


You are The Dawn of A New Day That's Waking

by Anonymous



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Family, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Gen, Kid Fic, Mentor/Protégé, Peggy Sue, Slice of Life, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-13
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:20:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 31,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27539008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: A stunt on Kakashi’s part lands him a little over two decades in the past when he was six-years-old and a freshly promoted Chunin. Instead of keeping his memories of the future to himself and trying to change the world on his own, he decides to share this turn of events with his sensei.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi & Namikaze Minato, Hatake Kakashi & Nohara Rin & Uchiha Obito, Hatake Kakashi & Uzumaki Kushina, Namikaze Minato/Uzumaki Kushina
Comments: 248
Kudos: 552
Collections: anonymous





	1. Bedtime

**Author's Note:**

> This isn't so much a series about Kakashi making changes to the future in big, major ways, but just a series of moments he has with people, like Minato, and creating little ripples and appreciating his second chance.  
> Enjoy and if you perhaps have anything you may like to see in this story, say something. I make absolutely no promises I'll write it, but I'm open to the possibility. I don't have a very strong plotline in mind for this story that needs to be kept.

The scroll’s words are blurry and look more like smudges than letters, but Kakashi does his best to press on. There could be something useful in this scroll. However, his study is interrupted by a sigh and a tan hand reaching down to pull it from his little, stiff fingers. Kakashi looks up to see his sensei smiling at him.

“It’s bedtime for little time-travelers,” his teacher, who is barely any older than his students back home, says.

Kakashi, unbidden, pouts at him behind his mask. “Minato-Sensei,” he complains. He shouldn’t have agreed to move in with Sensei for the time being. If he’d stayed in the rundown efficiency he’d used to live in at this age (when just looking at the Hatake Estate could cause panic attacks), he’d have been able to study uninterrupted well past… He looks at the little mantel clock Minato keeps on the round table beside his sofa. It reads eight-thirty at night. He frowns. Is it _really_ that early? 

Minato, undeterred, rolls up his scroll and places it in the back pocket of his pants. “Kakashi, I’ve been sitting over there,” he says, pointing at his black polyester couch, “watching your head droop every other minute for the last quarter of an hour.”

Kakashi sighs and places his chin in his hands. “You know, when I decided to tell you I was from the future, I thought it’d mean I’d get more respect.”

“I do respect you, Kakashi,” Minato assures him as he ruffles Kakashi’s hair. “I’m just trying to help you,” he explains. Before Kakashi can come up with a rebuttal, Minato picks him off his apartment’s living room rug and places Kakashi on his hip. Kakashi kicks his feet a little, annoyed to be held like a toddler. “I’m not sure you realize this, but even if your big brain is almost thirty, your body is six,” his sensei tells him as he walks them in the direction of Kakashi’s (temporary) bedroom.

As Minato opens the door to his room, Kakashi points out, “It’ll be seven in a couple of weeks.”

“That’s right,” replies Minato, smirking. He puts Kakashi down and places one hand on his hip and the other on his chin. “So, how should we decorate your cake?” he asks. “With thirty candles? Seven? Somewhere in the middle?”

Kakashi rolls his eyes at his teacher. “Ha, ha, Sensei.”

Minato laughs before he walks over to the room’s dresser and rustles in one of the drawers before pulling out an unfortunately childish pair of pajamas. They’re a green color Kakashi actually likes, but are also covered in a pawprint pattern. He tosses them at Kakashi then, who catches the clothes with deft reflexes. “Change into your pajamas and I’ll tuck you in,” he says.

He narrows his eyes at his teacher and repeats what is quickly becoming a common mantra of his. “I’m not six.”

Minato sighs. “For my peace of mind can you do it?” he pleads, making a face that’s uncomfortably close to the kicked puppy-dog expression Naruto sometimes pulls on him in the future. “I’m afraid if I go now, when I come back in an hour or two to look in on you, I’ll find you bleeding out because you decided to sharpen your weapons instead of sleep and hurt yourself.”

Kakashi ignores his teacher's insulting imagined scenario in favor of asking, “You check on me?”

Minato looks away and laughs. “I get nervous,” he admits.

Finally deciding to shed his clothes — mask included — and put on his pajamas, Kakashi asks as he puts on his bottoms, “Why?”

Minato kneels down to tug on the hem of Kakashi’s pajama top, which had folded in on itself, leaving a sliver of his stomach exposed. “Because you _aren’t_ six and I know you could sneak out on me and do something reckless without me ever noticing,” he answers with a sincerity that makes Kakashi feel shame.

Sensei isn’t wrong.

“…I can’t argue with you there,” he grumbles.

Sensei sighs. “I thought as much,” he replies. Going to Kakashi’s bed, he pulls back the white covers and says, “Okay, ready?”

“Yeah,” agrees Kakashi, clambering into the bed.

Minato brings the hem of the blanket to rest just beneath Kakashi’s chin. He smiles at him as he asks, “This good?”

“It’s fine,” replies Kakashi, curling onto his side and hiding more of his exposed face beneath the cover.

An impish spark comes to his teacher’s eyes. “Would you like a story?” he jokes.

It’s maybe stupid. No, it _is_ stupid, but Kakashi wants nothing more. When he’d really been this age (and older) he’d not listened half as well as he should have to the stories Minato-Sensei told him about his own youth and time as an inexperienced shinobi. It means now, as an adult, he can only half-recall Minato’s reveries or they are mixed-up together and there is no point in trying to tell them to anyone. Especially to Naruto, who’d probably adore hearing about Minato-Sensei.

“…There is this one story you told me once when I really was a kid,” Kakashi murmurs. “I’ve kind of forgotten the ending to it. It’s from when you were Jiraiya’s student.”

For a moment, his teacher seems shocked, but then he smiles and sits down on the bed next to Kakashi, one of his hands settling on top of his shoulders. “Sure, describe it to me, Kakashi,” he says.

He nods at his teacher. “Well, it starts like this…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	2. Three Can Keep a Secret

“I’m back—”

Kakashi freezes in the doorway of Minato-Sensei’s living room. On the couch is his teacher, but he isn’t alone. Kushina is on it too. They are both flustered and their hair mused; Minato’s shirt is off and Kushina’s skirt is hitched up to an indecent height, further confirming Kakashi’s suspicions of what they’d been up to. Minato pulls the red throw blanket he keeps on the back of the couch down to cover Kushina’s lap and stands up.

“Kakashi!” he exclaims, a shaky, bashful smile on his face. “I wasn’t expecting you back so soon…”

He sighs and turns away to go to the kitchen. It isn’t the first time he’s walked in on a couple and, really, this time is a lot better than the occasion where he’d gotten an eyeful of Asuma’s ass. Putting down the scrolls he’d gotten on the table, he turns around to find Minato straightening his shirt, which he’d put back on when Kakashi wasn’t looking. “The archives wouldn’t let me take as many scrolls as I wanted,” he explains. “Not even when I told them you asked for them.” He frowns. “They also kept hovering when I tried to look at some others.” Kakashi clambers into one of the chairs tucked beneath the table and complains, “It was annoying.”

Minato sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “Sorry,” he says. “I’ll come with you next time,” he replies. “Maybe they’ll let you take more if I assure them I really am using you as my gopher.”

Opening a scroll and beginning to read it, Kakashi shrugs his shoulders. “Maybe,” he echoes. Even if they do, he doubts they will stop hovering in the archives. He’d almost forgotten how irritating it is to be a genius six-year-old. People expect too much and too little of him at the same time. Kakashi is starting to feel less bad about how much of a brat he’d once been to people. He’d had good reason when this is how they treat him. As he reads, Minato continues to stand in the kitchen, watching him.

He puts the scroll down. “You can go back to Kushina,” he tells him. “Just… Maybe go to your room?”

Minato flushes bright red. “Er,” he mumbles.

“I don’t think so, kiddo,” says Kushina walking in. Minato jolts when his girlfriend brushes her fingers over his shoulder. “You kind of killed the mood,” she tells him. “Doing grownup stuff isn’t half as fun when you know there’s a little kid in the next room.”

He rolls his eyes at her. “Then everyone would be only children.”

She glares at him half-heartedly before saying to Kakashi’s teacher. “Next time, let’s hang out at my place.”

Minato nods. “Sure,” he says. Then, a hopeful look passing over his face, he suggests, “Why don’t you stick around? I was going to start on dinner after Kakashi came home anyway.”

Kushina smiles. “Yeah, okay, who am I to turn down a free meal?”

Minato returns her smile with a grin and grabs her hand. Ushering her over to the table where Kakashi is reading, he pulls a chair out for her and urges, “Sit.” Kushina does and his teacher says, “I’ll make some tea.” He turns around and goes to pick his well-loved (and dented) white kettle from the stove and fills it with water from the kitchen’s tap. “Do you want some too, ‘Kashi?” he asks.

Kakashi shrugs. “Alright,” he agrees. A comfortable silence falls over them for a minute or two before Kushina places her arms on the table and leans closer to Kakashi. He looks at her out of the corner of his eye, wary, but not yet annoyed.

“What’cha studying, ‘Kashi?” she asks.

He sighs. “Don’t call me that,” he chides.

She pouts. “You let Minato call you ‘Kashi,” she whines.

Minato, who is in the midst of steeping the tea, snickers. He glowers at his teacher. “He’s… Sensei,” replies Kakashi.

“And I’m his girlfriend,” argues Kushina.

He exhales through his nose and resolves to ignore her. Arguing with Kushina is futile, he remembers now. She’s possibly even more stubborn than her son. For another minute, there’s silence, but when Minato brings over mugs of tea for them, Kushina asks again, “You didn’t say, what are you studying?”

Minato pauses above Kakashi and he deliberates how to answer the kunoichi. He’s looking for a way to return to the future, but, obviously, he can’t admit to it. Instead, Kakashi tells Kushina, “I saw an interesting seal on mine and Sensei’s last mission. I’m seeing if I can’t find it in our archives to learn more.”

Kushina lights up and behind him, Minato shuffles away toward the fridge. “You like seals, huh?” she says. “I’m pretty good at them, you know!”

Kakashi does know. “I think they can be interesting,” he replies. Seals are not his favorite subject to study, but it’s something he has dabbled in and probably always will.

“Maybe if you draw it for me I can help you?” she suggests smiling at him.

Kakashi deliberates over the kunoichi’s offer. He is doubtful she will know it, (he had triggered the seal in a tome recovered from the Land of Sound, which, currently is known as the Land of Rice Fields). In the end, he decides to agree. The worst that will happen is she doesn’t recognize it at all. Getting up, he goes to retrieve paper and ink from the next room to draw the seal from his memory for Kushina.

When he comes back, she watches, curious, as he paints a slightly shaky version of what he’d seen and activated. While she studies it with a slightly furrowed brow, he sips at his tea. In the background, Minato begins to put ingredients into the soup stock he has boiling on the stove. “Where was your last mission?” she asks them.

“We delivered information to an outpost near Kusagakure,” answers Minato.

The valley between her brows deepens. “Really?” she says. “This doesn’t look like something typical to Grass, you know…”

“Oh?” says Kakashi, leaning in closer out of interest.

She nods. “In fact, this reminds me of something from places north of us, like the land of rice fields or even the land of snow.” Kushina snorts. “It’d be really weird for it be from snow, though, they like to keep to themselves.”

“Strange,” lies Kakashi.

She looks at him. Then over at Minato who is focusing intently on stirring the soup he’s cooking. “Is it?” she asks.

He keeps his cool under her sharp eyes. “Mah,” he whines. “What else would you call seeing this near grass?”

“Minato,” she calls out, making him jolt. “Did you see this seal yourself? Or just Kakashi?”

Minato mumbles, “Um…”

While his teacher scrambles for something to say, Kakashi realizes he may have underestimated teenage Kushina’s knowledge on seals. “You know what it does, don’t you?” he demands.

She shifts like she’s preparing to attack and Kakashi doesn’t waste a moment. He gets across the room and behind his teacher. “Kushina,” Minato pleads, “calm down, we can explain everything.”

Kushina slowly does. “You better,” she huffs.

Once she sits down, Minato takes Kakashi into his arms and brings them both to the table. He doesn’t like it in the least but understands that it’s a measure to protect him while they explain. Kushina is far less likely to try anything drastic if doing something to Kakashi could also hurt Minato. When they are sitting at the table, Kakashi in Minato’s lap, they begin.

“I’m Kakashi from the future,” he tells Kushina, who blinks.

Her eyes wander to the seal. “I… It did that?” she asks. “I know this part means something about replacement,” she says, pointing at a part of the seal. “And this,” she continues, tapping another bit, “is a reference to a far distance.”

Kakashi is surprised she believes so readily. He’d had to tell Minato that he knows after his seventh birthday he will be put on a team with Obito and Rin, as well as other things he shouldn’t be aware of before Minato trusted his word.

“Yes,” he says. “If you’d like proof, I can tell you a few things I probably shouldn’t know, but do.”

Kushina looks at Minato. “You believe him?” she asks.

Minato’s fingers, which rest beneath Kakashi’s arms, tighten. “Yeah,” he admits. “I, uh, remember when I talked about how I’m going to have to break it to Kakashi he’s going to have genin teammates soon?”

Her lips twitch. “And I told you to do it soon. He needs to get his sulking over with before he meets them if you’re going to have any hope of them getting along even a little.”

Kakashi frowns at her, then looks up at his teacher, who’s cringing. “He not only knew he’s going to be on a team but their names. He also was able to tell me some other little stuff that he shouldn’t know…”

Kushina laughs and Kakashi, feeling it is safe to, squirms out of Minato’s hold to go check on their dinner. Thankfully, it’s fine. He tries to get up on the counters to pull the bowls out of the cupboards, but Minato yells, “No, Kakashi!”

He pauses and looks at him. “It’s fine, Sensei,” he says. “I’m even using chakra on my feet.”

Minato still gets up and comes and plucks him off the counter. “It’s bad manners,” he scolds. He then takes out the folding stool kept in the space between the stove and fridge. “Use this when you want to help.”

He glowers and Kushina giggles more from the table. “How old are you really then?” she questions.

“Nearly thirty,” answers Kakashi as he climbs up the stool to accomplish the task he’d given himself. When done, he hands the bowls off to Minato and huffs, “Happy?”

His teacher juggles the bowls to one hand and ruffles his hair. “Very,” he answers before he starts to put the soup in the dishes for them to eat. “Go put your scrolls away. The archives won’t be happy if we return them with food on them.”

Kakashi grumbles under his breath but does as he’s told. Kushina’s eyes follow him the whole time, sparkling with mirth. “That old, huh?” she says. “And you let Minato boss you around?”

“He’s sensei,” says Kakashi simply. He’d shared a lot about the future with his teacher, but he really doesn’t want to do that right now with Kushina. He thinks she might cry when she hears what happens to her, Minato, their son, as well as her friend Mikoto and the rest of the Uchihas.

Kakashi isn’t good with crying young women.

She smirks. “That’s cute.”

“I’m not,” he snaps.

Kushina isn’t put off, she reaches over and pokes him in the cheek. “Sorry to break it to you, ‘Kashi, but you are.”

“Ugh,” he complains, letting his chin fall on the tabletop.

She chuckles into her hand and Minato puts their bowls of soup down in front of them. “We’ll get you back home soon,” his teachers assures him. “Though I can’t promise if we’re there, Kushina won’t call you cute still…”

Picking up his spoon, he nods. Honestly, he hopes Kushina will be there to call him cute. It’d be better than her not being there at all. “Thanks, Sensei,” he says.

“You’re welcome, Kakashi,” he replies.

Kakashi pulls down his mask and the three of them begin to eat, falling into lighter conversation where Kushina and Kakashi tease Minato and they discuss the mission Kushina will be going on in a few days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	3. A Not-So-Happy Birthday

Kakashi coughs wetly into the fur coat of Shiba and buries himself deeper when cold fingers brush over the nape of his neck. “Stop,” he grouches.

To his right, Minato-Sensei sighs. “I just wanted to see if your fever is coming down.”

He peeks up from Shiba’s fur and over Pakkun, who’s draped himself over his shoulders to act as a tiny heated shawl. All of his dogs are smaller now. They, like him, are puppies. If he wasn’t feeling so miserable right now, he’d probably enjoy getting to roll around with his baby ninken. They were really cute once.

“Is it?” he demands of his teacher.

The blond teenager winces. “A bit,” he answers.

Miserable, Kakashi lets his head fall back down on Shiba’s back and groans.

“Some thirtieth birthday, huh?” comments Minato. “You’re not only turning seven for a second time but sick too.”

Kakashi has to agree with his teacher’s assessment. It really is some birthday. He doesn’t remember being sick when he turned seven last time. Then again, Kakashi doesn’t remember a lot of his childhood. Most of his life pre-sixteen was pretty miserable and he’s done a lot to block out the worst of it. He’d probably willed this day right out of his mind. Then again, he may have caught it in the archives or exploring places he shouldn’t have been the last month too, changing the past.

He scowls and squeezes his eyes shut.

Minato, still sitting with him (though he doesn’t have to. Kakashi would be _fine_ if he wanted to do something less boring), comments, “I had to tell Kushina to cancel the cake. I doubt you want it now, huh?”

He doesn’t answer, just sighs.

Unaffected by his lack of reply, his teacher admits, “As it happens, I had a little surprise for you. I told Kushina to invite her friend Mikoto and ask if she’d mind bringing Obito with her.”

Kakashi turns his head a little at that and peers at the shinobi through fuzzy eyes. “Obito?” he repeats. 

Minato nods. “They’re cousins,” he answers.

“ _All_ Uchiha are,” Kakashi points out.

His teacher chuckles. “You have a point,” he replies. “They’re closer than some,” he corrects. “I think they’re second cousins twice or third removed.”

Usually, Kakashi would be able to calculate the numbers and think of the actual statistics to prove that wasn’t close at all. Today, his brain is too hot and cotton-like for it. So, instead, he just listens as Sensei yammers on. 

“I thought it might be nice,” Minato-Sensei explains. “You know Obito, obviously, but I felt maybe you’d like the chance for your first meeting this time not to be on a training ground where you have to compete.”

“Hm,” replies Kakashi. Actually, he has to admit, that would have been nice. Maybe they would have gotten off to a better foot. It’s too bad that won’t be happening. He’ll just have to try not to be too annoyed by Obito trying to prove himself and his “superiority” over a “baby” like Kakashi. He frowns. That’s going to be hard, he thinks. Dealing with so many adults trying to treat him as a child has worn his patience very thin as it is.

A quiet settles over them then and he hears Minato pick up some papers. He’s not sure if he’s doing paperwork or taking notes from something, but the sound of it rustling and the brush of a pen is actually very comforting. Kakashi starts to drift into a doze, but, it’s abruptly ended when a knocking resounds from the front of Minato’s apartment.

“I’ll get it,” he says like Kakashi is even in a state to move. 

Minato pads out of the room and he starts to feel his eyes droop close. However, they snap back open when Minato returns to his bedroom with a familiar boy’s voice trailing after him.

“—oto thought it might help! It’s an Uchiha specialty and really clears out your sinuses.”

“That was very kind of your cousin,” replies Minato as Kakashi wriggles to get out from under his dogs. When he’s sitting up, he squints over by the door to see that Minato is standing there with a bowl and spoon, and a ten-year-old Obito.

They both look at him then.

“Ah, you’re awake,” says Minato with a small smile. He holds up the bowl. “Look what Mikoto had Obito here bring you.”

The last thing Kakashi wants to do is eat, but he knows he must. It would be rude not to. “Oh,” he says. “That’s… nice.”

Obito smiles at him. His eyes are bright and eager and Kakashi feels his heart ache at the sight. This is how he remembers Obito best. This is how he wants him to always be. He’s glad he already got Sensei to promise not to leave them alone on the Kannabi Bridge mission. Hopefully, it will be enough to save Obito from the dark path he ended up walking.

The boy waves. “Hi,” he says, “you’re the birthday boy, aren’t you?” He chuckles. “My cousin told me you’re seven today.”

“Technically,” he replies and Obito’s expression becomes slightly confused while Minato flashes him a look of warning. It’s one thing for Kushina to know the truth, but entirely another to tell a boy who’s just been made a genin.

Minato comes over and gently shoos back his ninken so he can place the bowl in Kakashi’s lap. “Would you like company while you eat?” he asks him.

Kakashi shrugs, causing the soup to slosh. When he’d really been seven, Kakashi had been less concerned with hiding his face. The older he’d grown, the more he looked like his father… Hiding it had become a way to force from his mind that they were related. Then, by the time he began to forgive his dad, he was just so used to wearing it always and had built up such a level of mystique, he’d left it be.

Minato kneels next to him. “Come here, Obito,” he says to the boy. “We can chat a little.”

“Oh, sure!” agrees Obito, hurrying to comply.

As Kakashi pulls down his mask, Obito stares at him for a long, searching minute. Finally, he says, “…Don’t I know you?”

He nods. “I’m pretty sure I beat you in sparring at the Academy before I graduated.”

Obito’s eyes widen. “Gradu—” he cuts himself short and pounds a fist on a knee. “That’s right! You’re that prodigy.” His expression turns sulky as Kakashi takes his first taste of the soup. It makes his eyes water but in a good way.

“Hm,” he replies. “I guess.”

Obito continues to pout as Kakashi eats. “What’s that like?” he asks. “Being the best?”

Kakashi finishes his mouthful of soup and turns his head to meet Obito’s eyes. “There are lots of better ninja,” he chides him. He looks at his teacher, who’s biting his lip, clearly unsure how to fix what’s happening. “Sensei, for one,” he tells Obito. “Plus, I’ve met plenty of ninjas who weren’t prodigies and are still the best at what they do.”

The boy scoffs and Kakashi frowns. “Really,” he insists. “Jiraiya, Minato-sensei's teacher, wasn’t the best on his team, was he?”

Minato blinks. “Uh, no,” he answers. “Orochimaru and Tsunade could beat him at most everything…”

Kakashi looks at Obito. “See?” he presses.

Obito doesn’t look entirely convinced, but that’s fine because Minato, seems to have found his footing. “Even now I think Jiraiya-Sensei’s old teammates could beat him if they fought him together,” he tells Obito. “But Jiraiya is still one the best shinobi to ever come from our village.”

Slowly, the boy nods and Kakashi puts his nearly empty soup bowl aside on the table next to his bed and curls up back among his ninken. He’s feeling slightly better now that he can breathe through his nose, but also quite tired. “Sensei,” he complains, “go talk somewhere else. I want to sleep.”

His teacher smiles and reaches over to ruffle his hair. “You brat,” he teases. “Fine, we’ll go.”

Getting up, Minato ushers Obito to the door. “Come on,” he says to his soon-to-be-student. “I’ll make us some tea and tell you a story or two about my sensei.”

“Really?” says Obito brightly. “You’d do that?”

Minato laughs. “Of course!” he says. “After you were so nice to help Mikoto and wish ‘Kashi a happy birthday, I think the least I can do is tell you a story.”

As their voices grow more muffled, and finally, disappear altogether, Kakashi drifts off into his first warm, easy sleep in a couple of days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	4. An Eventful Shopping Trip

“Minato-Sensei, I really don’t need a picture frame,” complains Kakashi as he follows his teacher around the little store full of frames, other decorative bobbles, drapes, and bed sets. His teacher ignores him in favor of comparing two similar frames. One was a darker wood than another — and more expensive. 

Kakashi huffs and crosses his arms. At this age, he really hadn’t had much money. Spending it on frivolities like a frame had seemed a waste to him at seven and it did now at thirty. He needs to be careful with his money. 

People are always charging him more for things in markets and shops alike because he is a _Hatake_. His father’s reputation still looms heavy over him and it will for a time to come. Up until Kakashi makes some names for himself. He hops up on the balls of his feet to pull on the sleeve of his teacher. “Put them back, Sensei,” he commands. “Tape will be fine. Or I can go to the estate and take a frame from there.”

Minato looks down at him. “You’ve said that before,” he comments. “But you haven’t brought home any frames after your solo trips around the village.”

Kakashi scowls at his toes. It isn’t like he hasn’t tried to go into the Hatake Estate since coming back, but this stupid body always goes into a panic attack whenever he tries to step past the gate. It isn’t numb to trauma at this age and feels his dad’s death freshly. “It’s at my efficiency,” he lies, looking up at his teacher, daring him to challenge him.

The blond has no problem doing just that. “What’s it doing there?” he asks. “You and I live on the other side of the village.”

“I won’t always,” argues Kakashi.

His sensei exhales and kneels down on one knee in front of him. Warily, Kakashi eyes his teacher and tenses when one of his larger hands enveloped his bony shoulder. “No, when you’re older, like my age, you will have a place of your own,” he agrees. “But that’s years from now.”

Kakashi frowns. “Sensei, I’ve lived alone since Dad died.”

His teacher shakes his head. “Maybe that was true before,” he says. “But it won’t be now. We’re going to live together. That efficiency… It’s not the place a kid should be raising himself all alone in. If I had known it was like _that_ , I would have never let you rent it in the first place.”

“I—” Kakashi stammers, unsure what to say around the lump in the middle of his throat. How hadn’t he seen his teacher cared about him this much before? Instead of trying to put the words together, Kakashi leans in and wraps his arms around Minato’s neck a moment. He then lets go and turns his back on him. “I still don’t need a frame,” he declares.

Minato chuckles and ruffles Kakashi’s hair. “I say you do,” he replies. “Think of it as a gift for becoming a part of a team, ‘Kashi.”

He doesn’t like the suggestion, but if Minato-Sensei is _that_ set on this… “I want the light ash-colored frame,” he declares, pointing at the slightly cheaper of the two.

His teacher agrees. “Okay,” he says and they head to wait in line for the cashier. There is just a woman with drapes in her hand at the counter haggling for a discount due to some uneven stitching. She and the cashier seem to be not far from settling on a price, so Kakashi doesn’t pay attention in favor of staring mindlessly at a cat sculpture on a shelf behind the counter. It’s something maybe Sakura would like. It’s too bad he can’t buy it and take it home with him. He tilts his head. Maybe he’s wrong. It would have to travel the long way around, but… It could still end up in her hands some 23 years from today.

As Kakashi further contemplates the statue, the door to the shop opens and a voice, one he’s all too familiar with yells, “Ah, Kakashi! My rival!”

Minato, next to him, stiffens and sends him a nervous look. Kakashi doesn’t care to reassure his teacher, however, instead, he turns to Gai. Kakashi actually feels happy to see his friend. Sure his exuberance can be a little much, but it’s been far too long since he saw Gai — any version of him.

“Yo, Gai,” he replies.

The older boy, who is with his father, Dai, takes well to his pleasant greeting and rushes over. “It is a beautiful day, isn’t it?” he enthuses. Gesturing out to the store, he tells Kakashi, “What has brought you to this shop today, rival.”

Kakashi points at the frame in Sensei’s hand. “We’re buying that,” he answers. “I’m meeting the other members of my team tomorrow and Sensei thinks it's important I frame my copy of the team photo.”

Gai’s eyes sparkle. “That’s why we’re here too!” he nearly yells. “I will start my first day with my genin team tomorrow!”

Kakashi curves his eyes along with his mouth beneath his mask into a smile. He doesn't want to, but when he was truly a little kid, Kakashi had a lot less patience for Gai’s blinding exuberance. He needs to make sure he isn’t too friendly in case this Kakashi after he goes home doesn’t remember anything from now or fails to fix his attitude. “Finally passed the exam, did you?” he says. “How many attempts did it take?”

“Kakashi!” hisses his teacher, but he ignores him because Gai only laughs.

“Three!” he answers. “Like a charm!” he adds, still smiling.

He nods, he’s really not surprised Gai takes the question as well as he does. He usually takes all things in an optimistic light unless someone is being outright hostile. “Hm,” he says. “I guess three tries to become a genin isn’t the worst record to have.”

Gai grins, but Kakashi's teacher seems to have had enough and picks him up. “Sorry,” he says to Gai and Dai. “It’s our turn to pay.” He gives a little, awkward bow to Dai. “It was nice to speak with you,” he says.

Dai nods, smiling beneath his mustache. “Likewise.”

“Maybe our teams can spar soon!” suggests Gai, face flushed with excitement.

Kakashi nods. “Sensei can talk to your sensei in a couple of weeks.”

“Yeah!” agree Gai. 

Minato starts to walk up to the cashier and Kakashi waves at his friend. “Bye.”

“See you soon, rival!” returns Gai before his father ushers him toward the display of different frames.

Minato is tense as he pays for the frame and exchanges pleasantries with the cashier. When done, he takes them outside and puts Kakashi down. “You were being kind of rude,” comments his teacher after a couple of minutes of them walking in the direction of Minato, no, their apartment. “I know you don’t care for Gai…”

“He’s one of my best friends,” corrects Kakashi, causing his teacher to blink.

He frowns down at him. “Then why…?”

He kicks at a pebble in the street. “I didn’t understand when I was a kid how rare a person like Gai is, how valuable it is to have a friend like him,” he explains. “I would be happy if I could be completely nice, but, well,” he stops and sighs. “I have to work within the possibilities of what the future will look like after I return home. Seven-year-old me, even if he remembers the last month and a half, even if some of my memories or impressions of them are still here, will probably be a brat.” He balls his hands into fists. “I can’t be too friendly. It will only hurt Gai later when I don’t stay that way.”

“You’re not a brat,” his teacher lies, ignoring the rest of what he said.

He scoffs. “Sensei,” he chides. “I might not remember my childhood with perfect clarity, but I know I was awful.”

“Things have been tough,” insists Minato. “I think you’re allowed to be a little disagreeable.”

He rolls his eyes. “Sure,” he says. “But I didn’t need to be so harsh with Obito or Gai as a kid. They just wanted to be my teammate and friend.”

Minato looks aggrieved. “If giving understanding isn’t enough to help you be a better person, what should I do?”

Kakashi sighs. “It took Obito almost dying before I really understood the worth of teammates…” he admits. “I don’t think I can ask you to simulate something like that. But maybe…” he trails off, rubbing his chin in thought. “Maybe find a way to really force us to act as a team. Find a situation that calls for me to pick them over the mission and maybe I will get it without Obito having to nearly die and become an enemy.”

His teacher dips his chin in understanding. “I will take that advice into consideration,” he tells Kakashi. Crouching down, he smiles at him. “Thanks for being so helpful, ‘Kashi.” He pulls him in for a side-hug. “I know it can be hard to reflect on mistakes.”

Kakashi can’t help but press a little nearer to his teacher. Moments like these are precious. He’d refused them when he really was seven and, soon, they will be gone again. “I want the future to be better,” he tells Minato. “For all of us.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	5. Team Minato: Day One

The sun is bright on their shoulders as Kakashi makes stilted conversation with Rin in the training field Minato-Sensei requested they all meet in. As Rin grows more comfortable with him, their conversation begins to flow easier. However, it is soon after they are interrupted by Obito appearing. He runs up to join them at the training posts they are sitting around.

He gapes when he recognizes Kakashi. “Is this for real?” he asks. “I’m on your team?”

Kakashi rolls his eyes. “Would you rather be on Maito Gai’s team?” he demands.

Obito hesitates to answer at first, but glances away and admits, “…No.”

“That really isn’t nice to say,” chides Rin in a quiet yet stern voice. 

Obito gives a big, exaggerated sigh. “He’s always dialed up to eleven, Rin!” he complains, beseeching her to understand. Which is Kakashi’s entire point. Gai is his best friend in his rightful time, but even he would have trouble being on a team with a child-Gai day-in and day-out until he is promoted to chunin and they begin to take their own paths.

Rin winces. “I guess you have a point there,” she relents with a nervous chuckle. “It’d get a little wearing sometimes I’m sure.”

Obito’s expression turns satisfied and, then, his eyes go wide. Head swiveling around, he searches the field before focusing his attention back on Kakashi. He asks, “Where is Minato-Sensei, ‘Kashi?” His brows furrow. “Didn’t you leave your apartment with him?”

He holds back a sigh. “It’s Kakashi,” he corrects. “And, no, I didn’t. He had something else to do first.” He tilted his head, as if in thought. Kakashi knows exactly where his teacher has gone. Yet he isn’t going to act too certain about it. “He’s meeting with all of the other new jonin instructors I think,” he says.

Rin blinks at him. “You live with our sensei?”

Kakashi shrugs. “He didn’t like the efficiency I was living in,” he answers. Which is true. When Kakashi had let Minato-Sensei around after he initially ended up in the past, he’d taken one look at the run-down (if clean) efficiency, and said it would be easier to collaborate at his larger apartment. He’d said Kakashi could stay until he found a way back to his rightful time.

“Is he going to look at our homes too?” asks Obito, an uneasy expression on his face.

“No,” replies Kakashi. “My situation was… Unique.”

Obito puts a hand on his chest. “Oh, good,” he says. He grins, laughing. “My room’s sort of a mess.”

Kakashi can’t help himself. However, instead of using a tone of disapproval like he would have the first time he was seven, his inflection is teasing as he comments, “If you were more organized overall, maybe you would have been on time today.”

Obito puffs out his cheeks. “I’m not late!” he snaps. Obito throws out his arms and says, “Our sensei isn’t even here.”

Kakashi smiles behind his mask. Resting his chin in his hand, he says, looking away, “Teachers can be as late as they like.”

“What kind of logic is that?” sputters Obito, staring slack-jawed at him.

Rin, however, giggles. “You must really like Minato-Sensei, huh, ‘Kashi?” she asks, gaze warm.

He eyes her. “Kakashi,” he corrects Rin. Then, with a small nod, he agrees with her assessment. “Yes. Minato-Sensei is a very good teacher,” he looks toward the path that leads into the training ground they were gathered on. “You’ll see soon.”

Obito crosses his arms. “Are you _sure_ he’s at some meeting with other instructors?” he presses. “He told us to be here twenty minutes ago and I was fifteen minutes late.”

Kakashi smirks. “He could be talking to Akimichi Chōza about having our teams spar,” he comments, considering both Obito and Rin out of the corners of his eyes, curious to see how the two will react.

They share a glance of confusion.

“Why would he be doing that?” asks Rin.

“I told Gai sparring with his team would be a good idea.”

“When did you do this!” demands Obito, leaning in to stare at Kakashi with hard eyes he probably hopes are intimidating.

He doesn’t let the look bother him and instead shrugs his shoulders, palms turned to the sky. “Mah,” he complains. “It was yesterday. We ran into him at the store.”

Rin scrunches her nose. “Why did you complain about him earlier then?”

Kakashi smiles at the girl with his eyes. “He’s a good ninja,” he tells her. “He just a little more spirited than I want to deal with on a daily basis.”

Rin bites her lip. “Is he?” she questions, looking at her lap. “Gai barely passed the exam this time.”

He waves off her question. “You’ll see.”

“I don’t know how you even know,” huffs Obito, throwing himself to the ground. Tucking his hands behind his head, he turns his attention to the blue sky above. “You graduated two years ago.”

“We’re rivals,” he answers simply.

Rin smirks. “That’s cute.”

He glowers at his teammate. “Cute?” he grumbles.

She pats his knee. “I’m sorry, it’s very manly,” she corrects.

Kakashi can’t help but roll his eyes. He knows she’s only humoring him. “I don’t need to be patronized just because I’m seven,” he grouses.

She goes bright pink. “Um.”

Obito, who’s always ready to jump in and support Rin no matter what, tells the embarrassed girl, “He sleeps with puppies. He’s not so tough.”

Kakashi can’t help but bristle. “I was sick and they were acting as heaters,” he corrects Obito.

Rin, however, is more concerned about his ninkens’ existence rather than the fact he was sleeping with them. “You have puppies?” she asks, excited.

“Ninken that I can summon,” he replies with a short nod.

Her eyes grow big and she asks, “Could you summon one now?”

He could, but he’s not sure he wants to right this moment. Minato-Sensei is not far from them anymore. “Maybe,” he hedges.

“Will you, please, ‘Kashi?” she pleads, hands clasped together.

He glowers at the girl. “It’s _Ka_ kashi,” he grumbles.

Obito frowns at him and says, “Sensei calls you ‘Kashi!”

“He’s sensei!” he replies, feeling a little childish as he does. It’s an ineffective argument and he knows it.

“What about me?” asks Minato-sensei, causing Rin to jump and Obito to scramble into a sitting position. Kakashi just smirks. He knew he'd felt Minato-Sensei appear a minute ago.

“Sensei,” he greets, turning his head to look up at him.

“Oh!” exclaims Rin, jumping up to her feet. She gives Minato a small bow. “Hello. Nohara Rin,” she says.

“Nice to meet you,” his teacher returns, smiling at Rin. “Namikaze Minato,” he says, “I’ll be your and Obito’s sensei.”

Obito hops to his feet and exclaims, “‘Kashi said you were late because you were talking to Akimichi Chōza about having his team and our team spar!”

Minato-Sensei laughs and puts a hand on his hip. “That is mostly why,” he answers. “We agreed in two weeks we’ll let you six have a face-off.”

“Awesome!” Obito yells, pumping a fist in the air.

Kakashi takes a kunai knife from a pouch and begins to inspect its sharpness. “If you want to win, you’re going to have to train hard,” he advises both Obito and Rin.

“Just us?” demands Obito, hands on his hips and sneering.

He smirks over his kunai knife at them. “I’m a chunin.”

Obito makes a noise of outrage as sensei sighs and asks, “Kakashi do you think it's really okay to gloat?”

“It’s a statement of facts,” he argues as he gets to his feet to stand next to his teacher.

The blond puts a hand on his shoulder and mutters, “Right.”

“You must not be _that_ great to be put on a team of genin,” says Obito, having finally found something to say now that he’s past his initial anger.

Kakashi shifts his stance and demands, “You want to find out?”

“Let’s go!” agrees, Obito, ready to fight.

“Obito!” chides Rin, tugging at his sleeve.

Minato exhales and strengthens his hold on Kakashi. “‘Kashi, let’s not ruin our first day as a team with a fight, okay?” he pleads. “If you kids want to see each other’s skill at work, we’ll have you three spar against me.”

“Really?” asks Rin with wide eyes, fingers falling from Obito’s sleeve.

He smiles at her. “Yeah!” he agrees. “It’ll give me an idea of where you two are at as well,” Minato-Sensei tells her. “So what do you say?”

“Let’s do it!” exclaims Obito, no longer upset, but excited. Rin nods along, cheeks flushed. 

Kakashi squirms out of his teacher’s hold to join his team. Kunai still in hand, he tells his teacher, “Get ready, Sensei. We’re going to beat you.”

His teacher smirks. “Prove it.”

They attack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	6. Babysitter Kushina

Kakashi walks into his apartment to find Kushina on the room’s sofa. She is lounging on her front, feet in the air, and an orange circular pillow tucked beneath her chest as she flips through a magazine. He furrows his brows when he notices her sandals are carelessly tossed on the bench where they keep their shoes and the smell of ramen in the air (is there takeout in the kitchen?). Kakashi scowls when he sees there’s an open backpack in a heap on the floor by her and that the door to Minato’s room is open down the little hallway off the living room.

She must be staying a while. Kakashi is not pleased _at all_. He’d told Minato-Sensei he would be fine for the week he would be away on his mission. Taking off his own sandals, Kakashi is careful as he pulls it off his right foot as not to snag the bandages he has wrapped around his ankle. After he puts them on the shelf neatly, he steps into the living room and crosses his arms.

Kushina looks up from her magazine and smirks. “Welcome home, ‘Kashi,” she says.

He doesn’t let the scowl on his face twitch. “I don’t need a babysitter.”

Kushina rolls her eyes. Sitting up, she closes the magazine and stands up. Coming to stand in front of him, she says, “I’m not babysitting you.”

“Then why are you here?” he demands, glaring up at the teenager.

Her smirk grows into a grin. “To keep you company.”

Kakashi scoffs. “Minato-Sensei isn’t going to be gone _that_ long,” he tells her.

Kushina crouches down to his height. “He did want to take you with,” she says.

He knows this. Yet Kakashi is inexplicably reassured to hear Kushina say it too. If Minato said it to her, that must mean he wasn’t just trying to placate Kakashi yesterday. “Of course,” he replies, not letting his relief show. “I’m a very competent ninja.”

Kushina wrinkles her nose. “Wow.”

“Am I wrong?” he asks, tilting his head at her.

She reaches forward and tugs his hitai-ate down and it comes to cover his eye. The eye that he lost, that was later Obito’s. He doesn’t think she knows about any of that. Kakashi stamps down on the unease taking over him and focuses on Kushina as she chides, “You could sound a little less smug, you know.”

He goes for flippant and shrugs his shoulders. “Eh,” he returns as he fixes his hitai-ate. 

She rolls her eyes. “So, competent ninja, what happened with your ankle?”

Kakashi doesn’t flinch. Instead, he walks around Kushina to sit down on the couch. Her head turns and her eyes follow him, studying his gait keenly. “Mah, it’s nothing,” he says.

“ _Really_?” she asks, tone thick with doubt.

He sighs and lays down, propping his injured ankle on the pillow Kushina must have brought with her (Sensei didn’t have orange pillows yesterday at least). “…I just set off a little trap,” he admits.

Kushina pops to her feet and comes to sit on the couch at his feet. “A trap?” she echoes as she grasps at his ankle, making the wound beneath the bandages throb. “Where? When?” she asks, rapid-fire.

“It’s fine,” Kakashi insists, attempting to pull his ankle from her fingers and failing to. “I got out the poison before it could get in my bloodstream.”

Kushina gasps. “ _Poison_?” she decries as he continues to try to get away. “Kakashi,” she snaps. “Stop moving and let me look at it!”

“Kushina—” he tries to argue only to be cut off by her yelling:

“No!” 

“Hey!” complains Kakashi as she undoes his bandage to look at the puncture in his ankle, just above his foot.

“This looks deep,” she says as she stares at the wound. “Why isn’t it stitched up?”

He sighs and falls back on the sofa. There’s no use fighting her anymore. She’s already gotten her way. “It’s not deep,” he grumbles.

“Can we take you to the hospital?” Kushina asks as she inspects the rest of his foot and then calf.

“No,” he replies. “Not unless you want Orochimaru after us.”

She pales. “Orochimaru?” she repeats. “You tried to break into _Orochimaru’s_ home?”

Kakashi contemplates how to reply. He’s told Kushina a little about the future and he knows Minato has shared more. He thinks, from her reaction, she may not have gotten told much if anything about the sannin by Minato. “He made a lab to do research with human test subjects in the near future,” explains Kakashi. “I couldn’t find the lab, so I tried to go into his home to see if he had plans for it already there.”

Kushina’s expression is one of horror and the grip on his ankle is uncomfortably tight. “Shit.”

Kakashi bites the inside of his cheek to hold back a hiss of pain as Kushina’s hold turns constricting. “If it will make you feel any better, I think he was beginning to see he’d taken a wrong path when I ended up back here in the past,” he informs Kushina, hoping it will put her at ease.

Kushina’s gaze is penetrating as she demands, “How far off course did he go, Kakashi?”

“…He was an enemy to the village,” Kakashi admits.

The teenager’s face is frightfully grim as she demands, “Minato knows this?”

“Of course,” replies Kakashi, a little affronted at the question.

She quiets a moment and looks down. It’s then she appears to realize just how tight her grip is and it turns into something delicate, almost apologetic. “Have you ever thought of going to the Hokage?” she asks.

Kakashi sighs. He wishes that would help, but he doesn’t believe it will. “I respect the third very much, but he’s always been soft when it comes to Orochimaru,” he tells Kushina carefully. The Hokage has soft spots for many people who don’t deserve his kindness or lenience, but he doesn’t say that to Kushina. He's not sure how she would take it.

Kushina frowns. “He was his student,” she murmurs. Then, looking at him, asks, “Will you stop Orochimaru if he starts down that wrong path again?”

“Yes,” he answers, unflinching. Many problems of the future would have been avoided if Orochimaru hadn’t been there or caused them. However, Kakashi also knows the sannin is and could remain an asset to the village. If only he could find a way to stop him from his dark pursuits…

She nods. Then, brighter, she remarks, “I think Minato mentioned your teammate, Rin, is an aspiring medical-nin?”

“She is,” he replies, taking to the change of topic with ease. Unable to keep the warmth from his voice, he tells Kushina, “For being ten, Rin actually already has a good grasp on the basics.”

The teenager smirks. “I think I could bring her here to look at you.”

Kakashi really doesn’t think it’s necessary. He’s cleaned poison from wounds like this one dozens of times. However, he knows it’s probably unsettling for Kushina. He imagines she may have promised Minato-Sensei she’d return him in good health too. “If it will make you feel better,” he says.

She makes a face at him. “I trust she’ll at least tell me if your ankle needs actual treatment.”

“Mah,” he whines, flopping back and staring at the ceiling. He puts a fake hurt inflection in his voice and complains, “Don’t you have faith in my judgment? I’ve only been a ninja for longer than you’ve been alive.”

She snorts. “Maybe I’d trust it if you didn’t get caught up in some burglar trap Orochimaru has on his home.”

Kakashi hates to admit it, but that actually kind of smarts. “I avoided at least fifteen more,” he grumbles, lifting his head to pout at her. There was something weird about the trap anyway. Like it was _meant_ to catch a tiny intruder like himself. Or maybe, it was _set up_ by a tiny ninja. Anko is a genin now, isn’t she? Could Orochimaru have let her in his home _and_ shown her how to set up a trap? Or had he set it up to keep her away from his research? He doesn’t mention any of this to Kushina, she’ll just call it excuses, but he’s going to have to look into that too now.

“Uh-huh,” she replies, rolling her eyes. Hands once again firm, but not painful on his wounded ankle, she demands, “Now, can I trust you to _stay here,_ or do I have to take you with me to find Rin?”

“…I’ll stay,” he replies. He’s pretty sure the other option is getting carted across the village in Kushina’s arms and he’s _not_ interested in looking even more like a baby than he already does.

“Okay,” she says. Then, wagging a finger in his face, warns Kakashi, “I’m trusting you, you know.”

He groans and waves a hand at her. “Yes, yes, go.”

Kushina makes a noise of outrage, but let’s go of him even so. “Brat,” she grumbles. However, when she stands up, she doesn’t immediately flounce for the door. Instead, she leans over the top of him and brushes her fingers through his hair. Kakashi stills, unsure how to react to the affectionate touch. “I’m glad you’re okay,” she says and then, “there's ramen in the kitchen.”

 _Then_ she flounces from the apartment, leaving Kakashi alone.

Kakashi sighs into the quiet. Tentatively, he rests a hand on top of his head where Kushina’s fingers had combed through his hair. Maybe, he thinks, Kushina staying a few days won’t be so annoying after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	7. Welcome Home

Kakashi jumps up from the living room’s rug when he feels his teacher’s presence outside the apartment. Dashing to the kitchen, he sticks his head past the threshold. Inside the kitchen, he finds Kushina arranging their takeout in bowls and plates. He tells her, “Put together another bowl and plate, Minato-Sensei is back.”

The teenager’s head whips around at his announcement, the ponytail she has her hair in bouncing between her shoulder blades. “Really?” she says, smiling at him. Putting down the carton she’d been pouring their food out of down on the counter, she declares, “Forget the food!”

She then joins Kakashi in going to stand in front of the apartment’s door. When it opens a minute later, revealing a slightly dirty, but otherwise healthy Minato, they call out in unison:

“Welcome home!”

Kakashi’s teacher grins at the two of them, cheeks flushing pink. Walking in, he pulls off his shoes and lets his bag slide from his shoulders and to the floor. “Hey, ‘Kashi,” his teacher greets. Minato then shoots forward and before Kakashi can get away, he is hefted into the air by his Minato-Sensei’s strong hands. Usually, Kakashi would protest at being held, but he is too relieved his teacher is back and safe. He lets Minato swing him around onto his back and wraps his arms around Minato’s neck and encircles his legs around Minato’s waist. As he clings to the blond, Minato moves forward and shares an extended kiss with Kushina.

Kakashi makes gagging noises, which earns him a swat to the back of his head from Kushina’s hand. Kakashi huffs but stops making noises. When Kushina and Minato pull apart, his teacher asks her, “How are you?”

“Perfect now that you’re back,” she replies, with a smirk.

As the two teenagers make ga-ga eyes at each other, Kakashi grows annoyed. He is _right here_. It is almost worse than walking in on them that one time. At least then they’d stopped being mawkish when they realized he could see. Clambering off of Minato’s back, he squirms into the slight space between Kushina and Minato.

They both look at him then, Minato’s gaze curious, and Kushina’s irritated. Kakashi crosses his arms and declares, “I did _not_ need company.”

Minato sighs. “What, did you and Kushina not have _any_ fun?” he asks as he tries to ruffle Kakashi’s hair. 

Artfully, he dodges the tan hand and chides, “Sensei.”

“Don’t worry, Minato,” Kushina assures his teacher, reaching around Kakashi and looping arms with the blond. She leads them over to the couch and they sit down. Almost as if by instinct, they tangle their legs together. Kakashi feels irrationally excluded at the sight and goes to sit on the other end of the couch farthest from the couple. 

“We did,” Kushina continues, smirking at Kakashi. “In spite of what ‘Kashi is trying to sell here.”

Minato returns her smirk with a smile and runs a hand through his hair. “Oh, good.”

Kakashi, who for some reason itches to see them separate, decides to tell his teacher, “There’s lunch in the kitchen and it's not ramen either.”

“Thanks, Kakashi,” replies his teacher, but he nor Kushina move to get up.

He pouts behind his mask and turns his body away from the couple. Bringing his feet up on the couch cushion, he tucks his legs close to his chest and wraps his arms around his knees. Turning his gaze to the boring street outside, he pretends Minato and Kushina aren’t cuddling a foot away.

“So, did anything exciting happen while I was gone?” asks Minato after a beat of silence.

Kakashi tilts his head to the side as if in thought before he curves his eyes into a fake smile and replies, “Hm, no.”

“Really?” says Minato, raising an eyebrow and sitting up a little straighter. In the process, Kushina and his legs untangle. 

Feeling a little better at the sight, Kakashi decides to give his teacher a bone. “Gai’s team came around while we were training and he beat Obito in taijutsu spar?” he offers up. That’s probably the kind of news Minato-Sensei was hoping to hear about, right?

His teacher laughs and pats Kushina’s thigh. “That exciting of a week, huh?” he jokes, looking from his smiling girlfriend to Kakashi.

Kushina snickers herself before abruptly turning somber. “Kakashi, maybe you should tell him about what happened to your ankle,” she suggests.

Minato tenses. “What happened to your ankle?”

He shoots a look that tells Kushina just how easily he could kill her with his bare, tiny fingers if he really wanted to. The redhead does not cower under his gaze but instead sticks out her chin in defiance. “Mah, it was just a scratch,” he tells his teacher through his teeth.

Kushina narrows her eyes at him. “Kakashi, there was poison in it.”

“Poison?” echoes Minato, eyes wide and panic clear in his tone.

Indignant, Kakashi snaps, “I got most of it out and Rin the rest!”

“How did you get poison in your leg in the first place?” asks Minato-Sensei, leaning over Kushina’s lap and reaching out to grab at the darkly colored singlet Kakashi’s wearing today. He tugs at him, not quite forcing Kakashi to come closer, but insisting all the same. He doesn’t really want to be nearer to his sensei at the moment, but he lets his teacher bring him flush against Kushina’s free side. The teenager is tense from having her space invaded, just like Kakashi. 

“A trap in Orochimaru’s home,” he answers as Minato manhandles Kakashi’s leg with the small bandage just peeking out from beneath the hem of his pant leg onto Kushina’s lap. 

His teacher moves his ankle around, inspecting it, and even peeling back the bandage to reveal what’s now just a scab. “…Maybe the next time you want to go poking around somewhere one of us should go with you,” suggests the blond when he finishes his study and replaces the bandage.

Kakashi rolls his eyes and takes his leg back. “Because that wouldn’t be suspicious.”

“Kakashi, we have teams for a reason,” Minato replies, giving him a disappointed frown.

He knows that. He probably understands the worth of teams better than anyone in this whole village right now. Angrily, he gets up from the couch and snaps, “I know!” When Kakashi tries to stalk past to go shut himself away in his bedroom and to get away from this stupid conversation, Minato-Sensei grabs his arm.

His eyes are so earnest it makes a lump form in Kakashi’s throat. “I don’t want you getting needlessly hurt, Kakashi,” he murmurs.

He looks away from the gaze. Now he knows with 100% certainty it was Minato who Naruto inherited his puppy dog eyes from. “It was a mistake,” he says. “I won’t make one like it again.”

“Good,” says his teacher, giving Kakashi’s arm a light squeeze. Voice firm, he declares, “I’m still going with you, or if I can’t, Kushina will.”

His head snaps up at the rule. He’s not actually seven. He can’t be ordered around like this. “Sensei, no,” he replies, glaring at him. “I’m the one who decides if I need help, not you.”

“Look how well that’s gone for you, ‘Kashi,” breaks in Kushina, her own eyes serious. “If I hadn’t insisted on bringing Rin around, you could have died because you didn’t get all the poison out.”

“It wouldn’t have gotten to that point,” he grumbles, glowering at the kunoichi. 

“How do you know?” she demands, her eyebrow arched. “You aren’t all-knowing, you know.”

He glares harder and Minato-sensei exhales. “We all want the same thing, ‘Kashi,” he pleads. “ _Use_ us,” he says. “We can help you.” 

He holds back the urge to quiver. Kakashi hasn’t given in to any looks in _years_. Not since he was actually kid training his ninken for the first time. Finally, he whispers, “I can’t let you get hurt because of me, Sensei.”

“We’re at an impasse, then, Kakashi,” replies his teacher in a voice just as quiet. “Because we’re not going to just let you go off and get hurt again either.” He shares a look with Kushina. “We’ll take shifts guarding you if we have to.”

He clenches his hands into fists. “You can’t do that,” he argues.

“Kakashi, I’m your sensei,” says Minato. “I don’t care that you’re technically older than me. You are _still_ my student. I want to protect you as much as I can and I _will_ do that.”

He sighs. Minato-Sensei is not going to relent. Nor agree that he has more than enough prowess to accomplish his goals. Kakashi gives his teacher a defeated look. “Fine,” he lies. “You win. I’ll bring you with me the next time I go out.” 

Minato’s sad expression turns to one of relief, but Kushina narrows her eyes at Kakashi. Then, leaning against Minato she wraps one arm over his chest and points at Kakashi with the other. “Don’t think we won’t notice if you slip off!” she says. “Since I’m moving in, there will _always_ be someone watching you now.”

Kakashi blinks. “You’re moving in?” he says, looking from her to Minato. “When did this happen?”

Minato flushes while Kushina smirks at him. “We’ve been talking about it a while, brat,” she says. Smirk widening, she flicks a loose strand of her hair from her face and explains, “Last week was my trial run to see how well we could get along without Minato around.”

He scowls. “You tricked me,” he accuses his teacher.

The blond laughs nervously. “It wasn’t a trick, I just forgot to mention what last week was…” he fibs, sweat on his brow.

He rolls his eyes at his teacher. “Uh-huh.”

Minato pulls Kakashi closer, knocking Kakashi's front against his knees. “Are you really upset with me?” he asks.

Kakashi sighs. Is he? Not really. He’s just annoyed that he might actually have to take one of these two teenagers on his next mission for information. He’d been doing everything he could to keep them _out_ of danger and now, it doesn’t look like it will be feasible anymore. 

“No,” he grumbles.

Minato breathes out an exhale of relief. Getting out from under Kushina, he stands up. Then, using the hold he still has on Kakashi to lift him off the ground, he wraps Kakashi up in a hug and says, “Good. I’d hate it if you were, ‘Kashi.”

Kakashi rests his cheek on his teacher’s shoulder and mutters, “I’m sure.”

Minato’s hug strengthens a moment. “I do care what you think, ‘Kashi,” he mumbles into his ear. Minato doesn’t let him go, but he does lessen his grip and shift his hold so he’s carrying Kakashi. “Let’s go see what feast Kushina got for us, huh?”

“She got a champon and yakitori,” Kakashi says.

Minato looks at his girlfriend. “Really?”

She flushes. “I wasn’t sure what you’d be in the mood for, you know. So I got a mix of stuff.”

He grins. “No, that’s great!” he tells her. “It sounds like the three of us are going to have a feast!”

Kushina returns his smile with a laugh. “Yeah!” she agrees. “It’s going to be great.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Shadow_Kitsune](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadow_Kitsune/pseuds/Shadow_Kitsune) said they were interested in seeing how Minato would react to hearing Kakashi was hurt. So, this is what this chapter ended up being about kind of. I hope you, and everyone else, have enjoyed this addition to the series.  
> Thanks for reading!


	8. Baby Teeth and Promises

Obito has his hands on his knees and is panting while Rin, beside him, wipes sweat from her brow. Kakashi, for his part, has also pushed his limits today. However, the red flush that has surely colored his cheeks is hidden by his mask, as is the quickened movement of his chest by his loose shirt. 

Minato surveys the three of them and smiles. “You did good today,” he tells them, or, rather, Rin and Obito. Kakashi isn't learning much during these spars, simply training his muscles to know what his mind already does. “How’d you like to get BBQ?” he asks, only to add with a chuckle, “my treat, of course.”

Kakashi looks at Rin and Obito. He can tell from the gleam in his teammates' eyes they are excited by the offer and more than happy to accept it. He’s proven right in his assumption when Obito throws up his arms with renewed energy and cheers, “Wow, you’re the best, Sensei!”

Rin, more subdued than their other teammate, but just as enthused, smiles up at the blond. “Thank you, Minato-Sensei,” she says, bowing to him slightly. “I accept your kind offer.”

Sensei laughs at her formality and pulls Rin under one arm and Obito the other. “Let’s go,” he says. He looks over his shoulder at Kakashi and winks, “You can pick the joint, 'Kashi. I'm sure you know an interesting restaurant or two.”

He rolls his eyes. He'd never accepted the offer. Minato is manipulating him into agreeing by putting the decision on him. If he refuses, he upsets his teammates and, well, Kakashi actually _cares_ about their feelings now. He gives a large, put-upon sigh, but does hurrying ahead of the trio and takes the lead. “I know this one place," he says after he wracks his mind for a BBQ place that exists at this point in time. "It _looks_ like a dive, but you can’t beat the amount of meat they give you for the price…”

-O-

They are seated in a booth towards the back of the tiny, dark BBQ place he has brought them to. Kakashi and Minato are on one bench, Obito and Rin the other. Like Kakashi said to them, the restaurant looks rough with its heavy use of dark wood and forest green paint on the walls, but when the waiter brings out the plates of heaping meat for them to cook on the little grill on the table, the unease around the corners of Rin and Obito’s eyes fades and is replaced with excitement.

“Thank you!” Rin gushes at the waiter, a wiry pimple-faced teen.

He nods, a slight smile curving his lips. When he backs off a moment later to let them eat, Obito wastes no time putting half the plate of beef on the grill to cook. Minato laughs at him, but Rin puts a hand to her cheek and sighs.

“Some of us might have wanted to cook something too, Obito,” she chides, though, she seems more amused than annoyed.

He grins at her. “I’m cooking for all of us! You can help yourself when it finishes,” he assures her. 

Rin picks up her chopsticks and flips over a piece of meat. “Don’t mind if I do,” she replies.

Kakashi shrugs and picks up his own chopsticks to flip another piece while Minato sips at his water and Obito puts rice on his plate from the large bowl the waiter had brought with the plates of meat. It doesn’t take long for the meat to become ready and they divide up the selection between the four of them before starting another round to cook. 

As Kakashi chews on a bite of meat, he feels a slight pain followed by an odd sensation between two of his incisors. He pauses in his chewing and realizes there is something else on his tongue not just meat.

“Kakashi?” prompts Minato-Sensei, staring at him.

He opens his mouth and reaches in. A moment later, he pulls out a tooth. “Oh,” he says as he uses his tongue to explore the front of his mouth. He quickly realizes it's a lateral incisor he’s lost. “I didn’t know I was still losing teeth,” he says, looking at his teacher.

Minato winces. “You _are_ seven,” he reminds him, eyes flickering to Rin and Obito who are staring.

He drops the lost tooth in a napkin next to his plate. “Right,” he replies. “Seven.”

“It’s no wonder you didn’t know,” comments Obito around a mouthful of food. “If you throw out all of your teeth like that.”

He blinks. “What else am I supposed to do with them?” he asks, tilting his head in confusion. “They’re useless.”

“My mom has a little box with mine,” comments Rin as she dips a piece of meat in some sauce on her plate. “It is silly, I suppose, but she likes having them.” She giggles into her hand. “We celebrated when I lost my last one.”

“Oh yeah?” replies Obito, leaning in with interest. “What did you do?”

“Mom baked a cake,” she says. “It sounds strange, but it was fun and made me feel pretty grownup!”

Obito grins. “No, that’s fun!” he assures her. “After I lost all mine, My gran and Uncle insisted I go bury the jar I collected them in in the yard.”

Rin joins her brows together. “Why?” she asks.

He shrugs his shoulders in a careless, jerky motion. “I don’t know!” he rolls his eyes then and tells Rin, “They said something about how it’s Uchiha tradition.”

Rin returns Obito’s roll of his eyes. “That’s always what they say when they don't have a good reason, isn’t it?” she says.

He sighs. “Yeah,” he agrees. “But, whatever.” He looks at Minato. “What did you do with your baby teeth, Sensei?”

The blond looks away. “Erh, I threw them out like Kakashi,” he admits. “I didn’t realize there might be a reason to collect them and no one said to…”

Obito sticks out his tongue. “That’s not fun, Sensei,” he complains.

Minato makes a helpless expression at the unimpressed Obito and Rin. “Sorry,” he apologizes. He reaches over to pick up the napkin Kakashi placed his tooth in not two minutes ago. “We’ll collect Kakashi’s teeth,” he offers. “I’m pretty sure he has at least a couple more to lose,” he says, staring at Kakashi in a critical way that makes his finger itch to pull his mask back up. While he knows his teacher isn’t scrutinizing him to see how much of Dad is in his face, it still _feels_ like it. “When he loses his last one we can make a cake for him, like Rin’s mom did for her, okay?”

Obito grins, apparently happy with the offer. “Yeah!” he says. Then, to Kakashi, he says, “If you want, I can help you knock them out some time to get the cake faster.”

“Obito!” hisses Rin.

Minato laughs awkwardly. “That might not be a good idea,” he comments. “We don’t need you accidentally taking out his adult teeth while you’re at it.”

The boy slumps against the back of his bench. “I guess,” he grumbles.

Kakashi chuckles into his fist before he smirks at Obito with his new, gaped-tooth smile. "Even without your help, it won't be too long," he says. "We spar a lot and are going to go on missions soon. I'm sure they'll get knocked out sooner rather than later."

Obito brightens at his declaration and Minato groans. It's clear he's not looking forward to the possibility of Kakashi letting his teammates and enemies throw fists at his face in hopes it will knock out a baby tooth. As for Kakashi, he doesn't care what sensei thinks. He's hopeful it will mean he won't have to put up with too many more of these annoying and weird holes in his mouth.

"What kind of cake do you like, 'Kashi?" Rin asks, entirely ignoring their teacher's dramatics.

Kakashi doesn't like cake. Sweets at all, really. For her, though, he will indulge in a little lie. He recalls Rin used to like citrus flavors. "Lemon cake," he answers her. She claps her hands while Minato blinks down at him, dismay replaced with surprise. His teacher knows he's being dishonest with Rin. Yet he doesn't seem to mind as the surprise fades and Minato leans back in his seat and grins smugly.

Apparently, he's _proud_. 

"That's mine too!" she exclaims. She then sticks out a tongue at Obito. "I told you liking lemon-flavored cake isn't weird!"

Obito huffs and grumbles beneath his breath, " _Kakashi_ is a weirdo. Of course he has weird tastes." Kakashi frowns at the boy, who appears to have realized his superior hearing caught his complaints if his reddening ears are any indication. Instead of acknowledging his mistake, he starts to shovel rice into his mouth.

Rin giggles at his antics and leans across the table to take Kakashi's hand. He stares at her with mild curiosity as she swears, "I'll make you the best lemon cake you've ever had when you lose your last tooth!" She grins widely and tilts her head at him. "Don't lose them all too quickly, though. It'll be hard to eat if your mouth is missing half of its teeth," she teases.

"Yeah, okay," he agrees. She's right about that. Eating the cake would be hard if he lets Obito and enemies take them out too fast.

Minato-sensei sighs his relief at his agreement. "You, Rin, are a boon," he says. "I thought I was going to have to spend our next training sessions protecting 'Kashi's face as I tried to make him see sense."

The girl flushes at the compliment and Kakashi puffs out his cheeks at his teacher. "Sensei," he complains.

The blond ruffles his hair. "You can't tell me I'm wrong," he insists. "Now, come on, eat up you three. We don't want my money to go to waste!"

Obito starts to shovel more food in his mouth and Rin picks her chopsticks back up. Kakashi continues to pout, but only for a moment because Minato-Sensei threatens, "'Kashi, I _will_ feed you if I have to."

His teacher is joking, a look at his smiling faces tells him as much, but… there's something just steely enough in his blue eyes that Kakashi decides he isn't going to push Minato's patience. He starts to eat. Minato joins them a minute later, vibrating with silent laughter as he does.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, a happy 2021 to you all.
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	9. Eavesdropping

Kakashi wakes with his heart crashing into his ribcage. That was a memory, _not_ reality. It is behind (before?) him. Right now, Kakashi is safe. He is in the apartment he shares with Minato-Sensei and Kushina. He breathes in and lets his thrashing heart settle. When it has sunk back to its home between his lungs, Kakashi then turns onto his side and slowly breathes out.

He repeats the process of breathing in and out a few times before Kakashi realizes it's not helping and he’s still unsettled. He deliberates his options briefly and comes to the conclusion a drink of water from the kitchen will help. A change of scenery should make it possible to regain some semblance of peace. 

Rising from his bed, he then pads across his room, soundless, and with his chakra masked, he reaches his bedroom door and opens it. As he does, he avoids setting off the little alarm Minato thinks he’s hidden on it. Kakashi knows it makes his teacher feel better to be able to hear Kakashi coming and going from his room. Usually, he’d play along and activate it.

However, his legs feel unsteady and he really doesn’t want to talk about the memory that just terrorized him. He’s told Minato pretty much everything about the future, but a lot of little, unhelpful details he left out. The memory he just dreamt is full of those details and the only way to explain why he’s so shaken will mean talking about the things he’s never told Minato about.

That will lead to a whole new conversation he’s not quite ready for too.

Stepping out into the hallway, he realizes a light is still on in the living room. Kakashi internally curses. What time is it? Most nights, he’s pushed to go to bed by nine at night. What that means is it could still be quite early in the night. It might not even be midnight. He sighs soundlessly and is going to turn around and go drink from the tap in the bathroom when he hears paper being shuffled followed by Kushina murmuring:

“Hm… Where does it all go?”

His teacher replies a moment later with:

“We’ll have enough for the rent.”

“The electricity? Water?” asks Kushina, voice high and accompanied by more shuffling paper.

Minato answers her shortly after. “The water we can swing,” he says. Then, he groans. “One of us will need to take another C or B-ranked mission to pay off this electricity bill…”

“I can do it, y’know,” Kushina insists, voice firm. “You’ve got a team to teach.”

There’s a beat of silence followed by Minato floating the start of an idea:

“If I take a few D-rank—”

“No, you’ll have to split it with the kids,” says Kushina, cutting him off. “Don’t try and bank on that being enough.”

“We can do a couple of D missions and a C then,” Minato insists. “I don’t want to overwork you.”

Kushina scoffs. “Overwork me?” she grumbles, peeved.

“Okay, I’ll miss you,” admits Minato and then there’s a soft sound. A kiss. “ _We_ ’ll miss you,” he murmurs.

“Sure,” says Kushina with a small snort.

“He does like you,” replies Minato so quiet that Kakashi has to strain his ears.

There’s a small sigh and the sound of another kiss. “Because he loves you,” whispers Kushina.

Kakashi hears them shift on the couch and their clothes rustle. He can almost imagine in his mind’s eye that Minato has wrapped his arms around Kushina’s waist and placed his head on her shoulder. “I really appreciate you moving in, Kushina,” he tells her. “Having you around has been invaluable.” Minato chuckles. “Sometimes I think he listens better to you than to me.”

There’s the sound of a couple more kisses and Kushina makes a wordless noise of pleasure. Kakashi feels his cheeks heat up and starts to take a step back, feeling like he’s intruded too much. However, Kushina laughs then. “Mh. I’m just not afraid to upset the brat, you know,” she jokes.

Kakashi scowls. However, his annoyance is replaced with warmth when his teacher defends him. “He’s not a brat,” chides Minato.

Kushina laughs again. “Minato.”

His teacher exhales loudly. “Okay,” he says, making the frown on Kakashi’s face reappear. “But we all have our moments I think,” he adds and Kakashi flips back to feeling only affection for Minato.

“Oh man, you’re smitten,” teases Kushina before there’s the sound of more kissing.

When it stops, Minato admits, “He’s the little brother I always wanted.”

Kakashi barely stops himself from gasping. Kakashi always felt a deep adoration for his teacher and knew he felt some way about Kakashi too. Yet to hear he thinks of him as a little brother… He blinks back a sudden surge of tears. How could he ever let Minato _die_? 

“Genius calls to genius,” says Kushina, tone admiring.

Minato laughs and Kakashi can imagine him grinning at his girlfriend as he tells her, “You’re pretty amazing too.”

She giggles. “Stop.”

Kakashi sighs when they start to make the noises of making out. He’s pretty sure he knows where things are going to go next. Interest waning, he turns around and starts for the bathroom. While he initially wanted a drink to help calm down, he is actually thirsty now. “Mh,” mumbles Minato. “I don’t think I want to,” he jokes. “Should we go to our room?”

Kakashi, fingers on the bathroom light switch he’s just turned on, pauses. He needs to go back to his room this instant. His bedroom door is open and they will know he’s not asleep if they walk down the hall now. They will know he possibly listened in on their conversation. Even worse, they might conclude he’s struck off on his own when he isn’t supposed to do that anymore.

“Yeah,” says Kushina as he hurries back into his bedroom. Kakashi closes the door as softly as he can without alerting the alarm on it to what he’s doing. “You gonna poke your head in or should I?” she questions, voice muffled by the door and walls.

“I can do it,” he tells her. 

His reply is followed by the sound of a soft slap and a burst of new giggles. Kakashi gags with disgust as he hides under his covers. He knows exactly who and what was slapped. “Minato!” says Kushina.

He only chuckles. “Don’t get started without me,” he tells her with a faux-stern voice that’s clearer than a moment ago. They are outside his room. Kakashi shuts his eyes and forces his breathing to take on the steady rhythm of rest.

“We’ll see,” whispers Kushina as his bedroom door creaks open. He can’t help but wrinkle his nose when the sound of a lingering kiss carries into his bedroom.

His teacher exhales when the kiss ends and Kushina’s feet wander across the hall into the bathroom. He can’t help but tense when she closes the door behind her. He remembered to turn the light off in there before he ran back to his room, didn’t he?

“‘Kashi?” calls Minato, stepping inside instead of closing his room’s door again.

He knows Minato knows. He sits up and gives his teacher a pathetic look. “Sorry,” he mumbles, hoping his teacher won’t be too annoyed with him.

Minato furrows his brows. “Sor—” he begins only to realize what Kakashi is apologizing for. His cheeks turn pink and he laughs, embarrassed. “Oh, uh. Hm.”

He begins to trace the plaid pattern on the new covers Kushina recently bought him. She didn’t like the old ones. They were “boring”. “I could take more missions too,” he tells Minato. “I live here.”

His teacher blinks. Then Minato’s eyes grow sad and he starts, “You’re a kid—”

“Not really,” Kakashi breaks in. Maybe physically he is, maybe in the perceptions of those he hasn’t shared the future with, but otherwise, no.

Minato closes Kakashi’s door almost all the way before he comes to sit on the edge of Kakashi’s bed. Kakashi scoots over a little to create more room for his teacher. Staring up at him in the near-complete darkness, he can’t really make out the shinobi’s expression at all. He pouts.

“Can you be honest with me, Kakashi?” asks his teacher, one of his hands finding Kakashi’s knees.

He stills under the touch. Doing his best to not let his unease show in his shape or voice, he asks, “What do you want to know?”

Minato’s eyes somehow meet his even though he can make out very little else in the room in his bedroom right now. “Did you _ever_ feel like a kid?”

Kakashi swallows. “How do you mean?” he questions, trying to buy himself time to find an answer that will satisfy Minato.

Minato’s hand grows heavier on his knee as he sighs. “Like…” he murmurs, “did you ever feel as if you weren’t responsible for everything?” he inquires. “Did you not worry about everything and everyone once?”

Kakashi’s shoulders slumped. There were people who hadn’t spent every second of their life worrying about something or someone? “I don’t know,” he says even though he knows the answer will not please Minato or save him from whatever is going to come next.

“Kakashi,” Minato says, insisting with his reproving tone he speak the truth.

“I guess not,” he admits, dropping his chin to his chest.

Minato breathes out. Then, he draws Kakashi’s attention by settling one of his hands on top of Kakashi’s head. He looks up and past the blond’s arm to try and glimpse what he can from Minato’s expression. “Sensei?”

“I know I can’t make you feel like a kid. It’s too late for that,” says his teacher. His fingers start to move through Kakashi’s hair and, unbidden, Kakashi leans into the caress. “I would like it if I could lift some of the burdens you carry off of you, though.”

It’s a kind offer. However, Kakashi can’t possibly accept it. His teacher and Kushina need help with the bills. “Sensei—”

“Let me and Kushina do this. We want to,” insists Minato, cutting off his refusal. Minato’s hand moves from Kakashi’s hair to his back. “I know you’re a chunin, that everyone has high hopes for you… But you’re seven too. Even if it’s just in body. I can let you be more carefree than other ninjas. _You_ can let yourself be a little more carefree.”

He crosses his arms and scowls. If he lets that happen, though, who will pay for it? Minato and Kushina didn’t have to take these extra missions when he was seven the first time, did they? What if one of them gets hurt on these additional missions? It’ll be his fault. “At whose cost?” he demands.

“Whose cost indeed,” echoes Minato.

Kakashi huffs and shakes off his teacher’s hand. “I don’t… Sensei, I don’t understand.”

“It’s fine,” assures Minato, patting his head once again. He then guides Kakashi to lie back down. “Why don’t you think about it while you go back to sleep, hm?” he suggests as he pulls the covers right up to Kakashi’s chin the way he likes it.

“Minato…” Kushina calls in barely a whisper through the parted bedroom door.

Minato who has finished tucking in Kakashi turns his head in the direction of the door. “Sorry, I woke him when I was checking in,” he says back to her in a low, but clear voice.

Kushina pops her head into the room and light from the hallway casts small shadows over the plains of her face. “Hmph,” she replies, unimpressed to Minato. To Kakashi, she orders, “ Go back to sleep quickly, okay, ‘Kashi? It’s late, you know.”

“I will Kushina,” he assures as he burrows himself below his covers.

She nods. “Good.” Kushina then steps into the room and stretches out a hand for Minato to take as he gets up to join her. “Come on Minato. It’s time for us to, uh, _sleep_ too.”

He glares at the couple as Minato links fingers with Kushina. “Mah, I’m not actually seven,” he grouses, annoyed Kushina would believe he’d miss her euphemism.

“Pervert," she shoots back.

Minato visibly startles. “Kushina!” he hisses.

Kakashi feigns a yawn. “It’s fine,” he tells Minato. As he turns onto his side, he murmurs, “It’s not the first time I’ve been called that…”

“What does that mean?” asks Minato, head whipping around. 

He doesn't answer his teacher and Kushina makes sighs in aggravation. “Talk about that in the morning!” she complains. Kushina tugs Minato out of his bedroom by their linked hands. “Let’s go," she says.

"Goodnight Minato-Sensei, Kushina," he calls after them.

"Night!" they reply in tandem before his bedroom door is firmly shut. Kakashi only listens long enough to hear them go into their own room before he stops paying attention and brings a pillow to rest over his head. He knows Kushina feels awkward being too affectionate with Minato if Kakashi is around, but it might not stop her tonight.

The less he hears the better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	10. Cooking with Kushina

Kakashi and Kushina are partaking in companionable silence with one another in the living room as they wait for Minato to come back from his courier mission. Kakashi is cross-legged on the room’s rug sharpening his kunai knives. While Kushina reads from a novel lent to her by a kunoichi that doesn't survive the war belly-down on the couch 

As the afternoon draws nearer to the evening, Kushina looks at the mantle clock Minato keeps on the table next to the couch and makes a noise of surprise. Putting a bookmark in her borrowed novel, she gets up and wanders into the kitchen. Initially, Kakashi thinks little of it. She might just be getting a drink. Or she may be starting on dinner. However, when the refrigerator door opens and then does not close after a few minutes, he pauses in his sharpening and rises to his feet to investigate.

What is she doing?

Padding silently over to the doorway to the kitchen, he peers into the room to find Kushina with her back to him, leaning on the refrigerator door and twirling a strand of hair. He frowns and crosses his arms when she makes no moves to reach inside the refrigerator after a beat.

“What are you doing?” he asks finally, feeling exasperated.

The teenager jolts. Then she turns around to scowl at him. “Cooking, duh!” she exclaims.

He scoffs and moves further into the kitchen. “Really?” he says as he comes to stand next to her and join Kushina in gazing into their refrigerator. “Is that what you call staring into our fridge for ten minutes?” he asks as he takes stock of what they have. There’s not too much, but they aren’t understocked by any means. A lot of what they have is leftovers from take-out they had a day or two ago, but also there are some staples that Kakashi bought a little while ago.

“Shut up!” she snaps hotly, face flushing. “I’m just trying to figure out what I can make with the stuff in here…” she grumbles as she half-heartedly picks up their bottle of fish sauce before putting it where she found it.

Kakashi doesn’t let her blustering bother him. Instead, he taps his chin and comments, “Well, I see about three or four different meals.”

Kushina blinks. “What?” she sputters. “No, there aren’t that many options!” she denies as she pouts down at him.

He holds back a sigh. He’d always thought of Kushina as a good cook. Maybe, though, that isn’t true right now? Perhaps that's why they’ve been eating so much take-out and not because they’ve all been so busy with missions. “Can I ask a question?” he says to her.

She stares down at Kakashi for a moment, clearly in the midst of deliberating before she grumbles, “…What?”

“Have you cooked much in the past?” he asks.

She stiffens. “I know how to make food,” she replies, evasive. He holds back yet another sigh. So the answer is no, she hasn’t.

“Of course,” he replies like she actually answered his question. He chuckles and smiles up at her with his eyes curved. “Anyone can make rice,” he tells her, trying to irk her, which he does if the twitch of mouth is any indication. Kakashi then looks away and furrows his brows. “Well, close enough to anyone,” he amends thinking of the stories Genma once told him about Iwashi and how his rice was always burnt.

Kushina puts her hands on her hips and complains, “You’re kind of annoying, you know.”

Kakashi looks up at the kunoichi and feels his heart soften just a little. He is being a little hard on her. Especially when he wouldn’t be half as capable in a kitchen without her. “You taught me how to cook,” he says.

She blinks, eyes widening. “What?”

“Before,” he continues only to tilt his head and amend, “In the future?” he exhales and shakes his head. It doesn’t really matter, he supposes. “Some of the meals I know best are recipes you taught me,” he explains.

“ _I_ taught you?” she murmurs, apparently still stunned. However, it quickly wears off and she laughs loudly. “Of course I did!” she cries, acting far too smug for being so clueless. “See, I told you I could cook,” she jeers, leaning in close with a wide smirk on her face.

He rolls his eyes. “Yes, you could when you taught me,” he says.

She narrows her eyes and her smile falls. “What’s that supposed to mean?” she demands.

Kakashi ignores her slightly threatening demand and turns his attention to the contents of their fridge. “See that leftover tempura shrimp we have?” he says pointing at a white take-out box with the word “shrimp” written on the side.

Kushina picks it up and looks inside the box. She frowns. “There’s not a whole lot of it?” she comments, sounding confused.

Kakashi nods. “No, but if we cook some udon and make a broth to put the noodles and shrimp in, we can have tempura udon for dinner,” he explains as he takes the box from her and puts it on their counter next to the stove.

“Oh,” she replies. Kushina starts to twirl a bit of her hair between her fingers. Ducking her head, she mumbles, “But, um, we don’t have broth and I don’t think I know how to make it from scratch…”

Kakashi doesn’t laugh. Instead, he offers, “I can show you.”

Kushina sighs. “Yeah, okay,” she agrees. Then, in a tiny voice, says, “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” he says, acknowledging her gratitude and not being graceful about it.

She reaches down and scrubs a hand through his hair. “Hey, don’t get a big head about this, y’know?” she chides. Laughing, she juts her thumb at her chest and proclaims, “The only reason you can teach me is _because_ of me!”

“Right,” he replies with a roll of his eyes.

She wags a finger at him with one hand as she uses the other to pull their udon noodles from the cupboard to the left of the fridge. “Don’t think I didn’t notice that, ‘Kashi,” she scolds.

He pouts. “Mah, when will you stop calling me that?” he complains.

Kushina laughs as she takes the pot they keep on the stove to the sink to fill it with water. “Never, ‘Kashi!”

-O-

When they hear the front door open, Kushina walks away from where they're dishing out the tempura udon by the sink and sticks her head into the next room through the open doorway. “Welcome home!" she calls out to Minato-Sensei. "You arrived just in time!”

“Thanks," he calls back before saying, "did I?”

Putting down the now-empty pot, Kakashi starts to load their bowls on to the tray Kushina got down from the top of the fridge for him. “Dinner will be ready in just a moment," he yells out.

His teacher's voice comes from the kitchen doorway as he asks “Oh, did you cook it?”

Kakashi looks over his shoulder to see Minato and Kushina have their arms wrapped around each other's waists. The kunoichi pouts at Minato's questions. “ _We_ did!” she complains to him.

He offers an apologetic smile to his girlfriend as he compliments, “How nice.”

“It is," says Kakashi as he picks up the tray and turns around. Carefully, he approaches the two and remarks, "If we do this more often, we’ll be able to pay our bills more easily.”

Minato blanches. Then, he laughs and hurries to take the tray from Kakashi, making some of the broth slosh from their dishes. “Ah, ha, ha," he wheezes as he turns around and takes the tray to the table they eat at in the next room. “That’s not something you need to be worrying about, Kakashi," he tells him while looking over his shoulder at Kakashi. "Kushina and I have it covered.”

“Sure you two do," agrees Kakashi as he sits down at the table and waits for Minato to put one of the bowls in front of him. When he does, he pulls his mask down and picks up the pair of chopsticks Kushina hands over to him. “I’m just stating facts.”

“…Right," mumbles Minato as stares down at Kakashi, his bowl in his hands.

“Sit down!" urges Kushina, pulling on Minato-Sensei's pant-leg. She scowls at her boyfriend. "Try dinner!” she insists.

After a brief hesitation, Minato sits down. Taking a few udon noodles from the broth, he places them in his mouth and chews on them. When he finishes, he beams. “Wow, Kushina, this is great!” he compliments.

“Is it?" she whispers, seemingly surprised he likes it before a broad grin splits across her face. Giggling madly, she boasts, "Of course it is! I made the broth myself, you know!”

“With my help," grumbles Kakashi as he takes a bit of one of the tempura shrimp in his bowl.

Kushina pouts at him. “ _I_ put it together, you just made some suggestions," she grumbles.

He rolls his eyes and continues to eat his shrimp. “Uh-huh.”

“Well, the both of you, this is amazing," assures Minato as he reaches over to place a and on his head and Kushina's shoulder. "I can’t wait to see what you’ll come up with the next time you decide to cook," he says before diving into his dinner.

Kushina gives her boyfriend mooning eyes and Kakashi hides a smirk behind some udon noodles. Yeah, their next experiment should be interesting. Especially now that Kushina is feeling more confident about her skills in the kitchen thanks to Minato's effusive praise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [LaughingWombat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaughingWombat) suggested a role reversal addition to this series could be fun. I know you hoped to see Minato benefiting from Kakashi’s experience, but once I started writing this one out, it just made sense for Kushina to be on the receiving end of Kakashi’s cooking advice! I do want to write a moment on the field addition too still. That one I think will work out much better with Minato being helped by Kakashi.


	11. Lost and Found

Kakashi knows better than to ignore his surroundings, even when he is in Konohagakure. Danger is always a possibility and he is not going to fall victim to some opportunistic asshole. Of course, he still pretends to be oblivious and _does_ tune out many things. Especially during this time period when Dad and his failure are still so fresh in the minds of villagers.

People do not look kindly at him on the streets. While Kakashi frequently hates his tiny stature, when he travels through the village he doesn’t mind it so much. It is far easier to ignore frowns and glares passing above his head than ones that are eye-level. As much as he tunes out to most things going on around him, the sounds of someone in distress are always something he keeps an ear open for.

So when he hears little hiccups and tiny sniffles to his right, Kakashi veers off his course to the training grounds and goes to find the source of the sound. It doesn’t take him long at all to find it is a little boy. The boy is a brunet that Kakashi estimates to be about three or four. He's crouched in front of a jewelry shop, his face hidden in his knees.

“Hey, are you okay?” he asks him.

The kid looks up and Kakashi’s breath catches in his throat. He knows this face, even if it is missing what Kakashi thinks to be his signature feature, a scar across the bridge of his nose. The boy sniffles again, fresh tears budding at the corners of his eyes. “I dunno where I am,” he says.

Kakashi blinks. That’s right. At this time, Iruka still has parents and at his current age, he probably isn’t running around the village on his own yet. “Oh,” he replies. Kakashi scratches his head, deliberating his options. Finally, he remarks, “Your name is Iruka, isn’t it?”

Iruka wipes the tears from his eyes and nods. “Yeah. Do you know Mom?” he asks, only to squint and say, “Dad?”

He chuckles and looks away. No, Kakashi doesn’t. Not in the way Iruka means. He’s probably seen the Uminos around at this point in his life, but that’s hardly knowing someone. “Erh, well…” he mumbles. Finally, Kakashi sighs and decides honesty can’t hurt. “No,” he answers and Iruka’s lips start to shake. Before he can begin crying again, Kakashi offers, “But I can help you find one of them?”

“Really?” says Iruka, relief flooding over his face.

Kakashi nods. “Yeah,” he agrees. Then, because it’ll be far easier than any other way, he bites his thumb and summons Pakkun. The pug appears and looks at him with his typical unimpressed face. 

Iruka gasps, bolting to his feet. “Wow! You can summon dogs?” he gushes. “That’s cool!”

Kakashi smirks behind his mask. “Yep,” he says.

Iruka lays a tentative hand on Pakkun’s head. When the pug doesn’t shake it off, he begins to run his hand up and down the dog’s head. “Boss?” prompts Pakkun as Iruka continues his ministrations.

This earns another gasp from Iruka and he murmurs, “He can _talk_?”

Kakashi decides to ignore the exclamation. “Hey, Pakkun,” he greets. “Do you think you can help me find Iruka’s…?”

"Mom," the boy supplies, barely looking up from Pakkun as he speaks.

He nods and echoes, "Mom."

The dog snorts. “Think?” he says. Little chest puffing out, he declares, “I know I can, Boss.” 

Kakashi smiles at his ninken with his eyes. “Thanks.”

Pakkun turns his head and buries his head in Iruka’s shirt for a moment. The boy laughs as Pakkun takes in a whiff of his scent before pulling away. Pakkun then sticks his nose in the air and smells it. Finally, with one paw, he gestures down the street. “This way,” he tells them before he starts to trot away. 

“Come on, Iruka,” says Kakashi, putting out his hand for the smaller boy to take if he wants.

Iruka smiles and takes Kakashi’s offered digits. “Okay,” he agrees.

The three of them walk down the street for a while and then Pakkun turns a corner and leads them right up to a brunette kunoichi who’s talking to a pair of jonin that Kakashi only vaguely recognizes. He wonders if it’s the war or the Nine-Tails Attack that kills them.

Iruka whoops and lets go of Kakashi’s hand. “That’s—”

The kunoichi’s head turns at the cheer and she cuts off the boy’s words with a cry of:

“Iruka!”

“Mom!” Iruka yells, barrelling into the arms that open up for him.

Iruka’s mother sweeps him up onto her hip and squeezes him tight in her arms. “Oh, don’t you dare do that to me ever again!” she cries as she leans in and places a noisy kiss on his forehead. “Mwah!”

“Mooom!” complains Iruka, leaning as far away from his mother as he can while staying in her arms.

She laughs at his antics and finally places him back down on the street. “Sorry,” she says to her son, hands on her hips. To the jonin she’d been speaking with, she says, “Thank you for your time. It seems I won’t need help finding my son, he found me!”

The jonin smile and with a few parting words, walk away. Iruka, who’s watched the exchange and now has his mother’s undivided attention once again, declares, “I didn’t find you all on my own. My friend and his dog helped!” He gestures at Kakashi and Pakkun who stand a foot back, having not wanted to intrude on their reunion.

“Huh?” she mumbles. “Friend?”

Iruka bobs his head up and down. “Yeah, my friend, um.” He winces before giving Kakashi a guilty look. “Oh.”

He, however, doesn’t mind that Iruka doesn’t know his name. It wasn’t as if he ever gave it nor is it fair to expect a four-year-old to remember to ask it. “Kakashi,” he informs the boy.

Iruka beams, but his mother behind him jolts. “Kakashi?” she repeats. Her face grows taut and she places a protective hand on her son’s shoulder.“You wouldn’t happen to be Hatake Sakumo’s son, would you?”

“I am sorry, but I need to be on my way,” Kakashi says instead of answering the kunoichi’s question. It’s plenty obvious to him she’s someone who does not hold the Hatakes in a high opinion.

“Hm. Yes,” she agrees, tone cool, but not cruel yet. She visibly hesitates before she says, “Thank you for helping my son.”

Kakashi can’t hide all his surprise. He wasn’t expecting gratitude after she showed she didn’t care for him. “You’re welcome, Mrs. Umino,” he murmurs before he hurries away from her and her son. 

When they are out of her hearing range, Pakkun looks up at Kakashi and grumbles, “Sheesh, her attitude took a dive at the end, didn’t it?”

He exhales. “You know how people feel about Dad.”

“It’s stupid,” complains Pakkun as he brushes up against Kakashi’s leg. “You brought her whelp back to her.”

He leans sideways to pat his ninken’s head. “She was polite,” he says as if it matters. Maybe it does. As much as she didn’t seem to like his family’s history, she’d also shown appreciation for bringing back Iruka to her. Perhaps Mrs. Umino is someone who might warm up to him in the future if he continues to show her he’s a good ninja.

Pakkun snorts. “Uh-huh,” he grunts.

He exhales. “Let’s just get to training,” he tells the pug. He smiles at his friend. “You can say hi to Rin and Obito again.” He tilts his head to the side in thought. “You like them, right?” he asks. He can’t remember if Pakkun actually did when he was a kid or if it took time for the dog to warm up to his teammates.

“The Uchiha has some magic fingers,” teases the pug.

He pouts at Pakkun. “Stop,” he complains. Obito is _not_ better at petting his ninken than him. “He only knows about the spot behind your ear because I _told_ him.”

“You’re just jealous he’s better at something than you,” Pakkun teases, nose high in the air as he trots ahead.

“I am not,” argues Kakashi. He scowls at Pakkun when the dog looks back at him over his shoulder. “It’s a stupid thing to be jealous of, anyway.”

If Pakkun could, he'd probably roll his eyes. Because he can't, he settles for snorting. “You’re right about that," he says.

“I am not jealous!” he insists once again, face hot beneath his mask.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	12. Reminiscence

Minato and Kakashi are sitting on the couch, the blond on one end, he, the other. Kakashi is absently working on an equation that will help him find the probability that the latest seal he’s tweaked to help him back to the future will work as intended. So far, the numbers aren’t looking too great.

“Kakashi,” says his teacher, drawing his attention away from his work.

Sensei is blowing on a mug of tea and wearing a long-sleeve shirt. Today has been cool. Kakashi, however, is still in a tank top and pants that run just past his knees. He doesn’t have anything warmer to wear that fits currently. The sweaters and pants he has in his room are all too short at his ankles and wrists or tight in his shoulders or won’t go up past his hips.

Minato-Sensei takes a sip of his tea before he looks Kakashi in the eye and says, “I think autumn’s finally here.”

He blinks. “Yes,” he agrees. “You may be right.”

His teacher looks him up and down. “Yet you’re dressed like it’s still the height of summer.”

Kakashi can’t help but look away. “Nothing I have fits,” he admits. “I’d have done something about it earlier, but…” he chuckles. “I sort of forgot children grow? I haven’t had to buy too many new clothes in the last decade.”

The blond nods. “We could go to the store, pick out a few things.”

That’s the last thing he wants to do, go to a store, try on stupid, bright children’s clothing to find something that fits. He’s sure it will be unfairly pricey for him, the Hatake brat, too. He stretches his mind back into the corners of his mind he doesn’t often let himself look in. When he’d really been seven, he’d just made do with the least ill-fitting of his clothes and re-purposed a few jackets and pants Obito had dumped on him one day after he “cleaned out the corners of his closet and found some stuff he’d forgotten to throw out that looked like Kakashi’s size”. 

He pauses. Obito had _not_ just cleaned out his closet and found things in it just about his size. Embarrassment overtakes Kakashi. He’s never thought of himself as someone who is naive or dense, but then… At that moment in time, he had been. Kakashi doesn’t usually make excuses for himself, but at that time in his life, he _had_ still been quite numb from his dad’s death, stressed from his treatment around the village, and trying to prove he was _not_ his dad.

Kakashi remembers just being grateful he didn’t have to try and scrimp together money for clothes that fit or a way to search through stuff in the Hatake Estate without having a breakdown. That was one of the few times before he lost Obito for good that he remembers appreciating his teammate. He frowns at the realization. Kakashi is already doing his best to be a better teammate, but he will have to make sure Obito knows he appreciates him without him having to die or give his eye to Kakashi first.

“No,” he says to his teacher. “I can make do,” he tells him. “Do you think Kushina has some thread and needles I can borrow? I know a little sewing. I probably can figure out a way to fix what I have.”

“No, Kakashi,” says Minato-Sensei. “You don’t need to do that.” His teacher puts his mug down and scoots closer to put a hand on one of his feet. “Look, I know we haven’t done a lot of missions lately, so you probably don’t have a lot of extra money—”

“—Which is why I asked for needles and thread,” cut in Kakashi, hoping his teacher might just agree instead of suggesting what he thinks he will.

“I could lend you some money,” offers Minato-Sensei.

Kakashi shakes his head. “No, Sensei,” he refuses. “You already pay for us to live here, the utilities, most of our food…” He makes a pained face. “You’ve also bought me paper and ink and even scrolls to help me try to find my way back to where I belong.”

His teacher sighs. “What do you suggest then, ‘Kashi?” he asks, warm fingers squeezing his cool feet. “Do _not_ bring up sewing again.”

He bites his lip beneath his mask and looks away from his teacher. It’s embarrassing to admit, but at least he knows Minato won’t look down on him… “The Hatake Estate,” he starts. “It probably has clothes I could use. Dad hung onto a lot of stuff from those before us. I think he’d hoped with my mom he might rebuild the clan, but…” he shrugs his shoulders. “It’s just me now.”

“We can go there,” agrees Minato-Sensei, voice soft.

He sighs. “That’s the thing,” he says, drawing his knees up to his chest and hugging them. “By the time I’m an adult, I can handle going there, but the few times I’ve tried while I’m the age I am now, I… I had some pretty terrible panic attacks just passing the gate.”

His teacher’s face turns into one of concern. “Why didn’t you mention this earlier?”

He can’t look at Minato-Sensei. “It’s stupid,” he mumbles. “Even if this body feels like it was just months ago, Dad’s suicide was _years_ ago.”

The blond makes a sad, helpless sound. “Kakashi,” he utters, at a loss.

“I want to go,” he persists, tightening his hold on his knees. “I’m just warning you it will probably be an aggravating time.”

His teacher’s hand moves from where it is on the couch to the top of Kakashi’s head. He threads his fingers through Kakashi’s hair. “You don’t have to right now,” he assures him. “I can go in?” he offers. “Do you know what rooms I would need to look in?”

Kakashi doesn’t need to deliberate more than a moment. He trusts Minato-Sensei. He won’t snoop more than necessary. Maybe he can even bring back some books and scrolls of Dad’s he could use to help with his dilemma.

He unwinds his arms from around his legs and picks up the paper he’d been doing his work on. Flipping it over, he draws a small diagram of the Estate and a list of the titles he wants. “Here,” he tells his teacher. “Those are the rooms to check and, if you can, will you look for those book titles, please? I think they could help me.”

Minato’s hand leaves his head to take the paper. Looking it over, he nods. “I can do that.”

-O-

The day after their chat, Minato-Sensei leaves Kakashi in the apartment to go look around the Hatake Estate. To thank his teacher, Kakashi prepares them a lunch of katsudon. As he nears the end of making the food, he begins to wonder what’s keeping his teacher.

A glance at the clock tells him it’s just past noon and Minato-Sensei has been gone since just before eleven. Finding an assortment of clothes and a few books shouldn’t have taken this long, should it have?

As Kakashi’s stomach slowly turns into a knot, the front door to the apartment opens. Leaving the food steaming on the kitchen counter, Kakashi rushes into the next room. “Welcome home!” he calls out to his teacher.

Minato, who’s in the midst of pulling off his shoes, a box on his hip, grins at him. “Sorry,” he says. “I think that took a little longer than it should have, didn’t it?” he asks. “Whatever you’ve made smells good.”

“It’s katsudon,” answers Kakashi as he approaches his teacher to try and pull the box from him. It’s not too large, and surely it’s not heavy at all, being full of clothes and a few books and scrolls. Minato-Sensei doesn’t let him, instead, he pulls it to his front and holds it with both hands. 

“Is it still cooking on the stove?” he asks Kakashi.

He shakes his head and walks practically on top of the blond’s heels as he goes to place the box on the coffee table. “I just finished dividing our meals into dishes,” he tells Minato-Sensei. “So, what took you so long?” he demands as his teacher opens the box.

The shinobi chuckles. Sitting on the couch, he pats his knee. “Come see,” he says.

Kakashi eyes him warily a moment. Minato-sensei usually knows better than to treat him like a kid so obviously. Even if Kakashi really was seven, there’s no way he’d happily take a seat on his lap. “Sensei,” he grumbles, crossing his arms.

His teacher rolls his eyes. “I know,” he says. “But we can both view it best this way.” He smirks. “I want to look at it some more.”

He sighs and relents. Walking over, he gingerly places himself on the knee of his teacher. Minato’s body vibrates with another small laugh and he pulls Kakashi closer against his chest with one arm as he reaches into the box. A moment later, he pulls out what looks to be a photo. 

Kakashi furrows his brow. “Sensei?” he murmurs.

“It fell out of a book when I was looking for the ones you wanted,” he explains, bringing it closer for Kakashi’s inspection. He feels his eyes widen when he recognizes those in the photo. There is a young blond teen, thirteen, maybe fourteen. He has his teacher’s face. With the blond is a toddler — Kakashi. They are both dressed in black and Minato is crouched in front of Kakashi, holding out a kunai knife for his inspection. Kakashi is somber-faced for such a small child and Minato’s also quite grim, though, there is the barest hint of a smile at the corners of his eyes.

“I think this may have been taken at your mother’s funeral,” explains his teacher. “We were in the village then, Jiraiya-Sensei and I. He wanted to go to it for your dad. They were pretty friendly back in the day I guess.”

“I don’t remember this,” he admits as he stares at the picture, absorbing all of the little things. The bushes behind them are bright, spring green. The sky is blue with a few clouds but otherwise perfect. What an awful day it had to be for a funeral.

“You were pretty much a baby,” replies Minato-Sensei. “ _I_ hardly remembered this day until I found the picture.”

Kakashi lifts his face to look up at his teacher. “Was this the first time we met?” he asks. "I thought it was a little bit before I graduated from the academy.”

His teacher shakes his head, a smirk on his lips. “Believe it or not, but I’ve pretty much known you your entire life,” he admits. “I think the first time I ‘met’ you, you were probably a few months old. Sakumo was taking you around the village, showing you off. He saw me, Kushina, and Jiraiya-Sensei getting ramen and brought you over to us to say hello.”

Kakashi glowers with annoyance at his teacher. “How come it’s taken until I’m thirty to find out you’ve literally known me all my life.”

Minato’s arm around his waist tightens. “Sorry,” he says. “I guess I figured you knew. I’d thought your dad would have said something or maybe you’d even have remembered some of these times, like the one in the photo…”

“My memory is not _that_ superior.”

His teacher laughs a little. “Yeah,” he says. “I realize now.” He puts the photo down on the coffee table and says, “I am sorry about that, okay?”

Kakashi isn’t mad at his teacher and never was. He’d just been a little irritated to find out his story with Minato is richer than he knew. “It’s fine,” he says, squirming to get away from the arm that holds him fast. “We should eat now, the food is probably cooled off.”

“Kakashi,” his teacher says before he reaches into the box and pulls out an empty frame. “Can we frame this picture and put it out here?”

He tilts his head at Minato-Sensei. “Why?” he asks.

“It’s… Well, it’ll make this place feel a little more like our home, don’t you think?” he questions, expression nervous. 

Kakashi considers this. Minato-Sensei has been doing a lot to the apartment to make it “their” home lately. He’s gotten dog bowls for Kakashi’s ninken, a little bookcase to put against the back wall here in the living room for the small collection of scrolls and books Kakashi brought from his efficiency. A desk for Kakashi’s room. They write their grocery lists on paper decorated with the faces of cutely drawn dogs.

“Minato-Sensei, I’m not going to disappear,” he tells him. “I know I moved in for convenience, but… I like living with you and Kushina too.” He smiles at his teacher with his eyes. “I’m not going to leave.”

His teacher grins. “Thanks,” he says. “Sometimes, I just worry. You’re so independent — no matter your age.”

It’s true. Kakashi very much likes being self-sufficient and the privacy of having his own space. However, he’s slowly growing accustomed to being here with Minato-Sensei and, more recently, Kushina. He likes getting to have all this time with his teacher he never had before. He hopes when he goes home to his rightful time that seven-year-old Kakashi won’t have to be convinced to stay. 

If something happens to Minato-Sensei again… He’ll regret missing the little moments with him. Sharing a couch in the afternoons as they read their respective books. Eating breakfast at the same table. His teacher using the top of his head to balance himself as he puts on his shoes before they leave to train.

“I know,” he says. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t like living with you.” Finally escaping his teacher, he grabs his hand and pulls. “Let’s go eat,” he tells him. “Afterward we can pick a spot for the picture.”

Minato rises to his feet, nodding his head. “Sure, ‘Kashi,” he replies. “Let’s eat.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	13. A Little Espionage

A little while after they separate from Minato-Sensei and Kakashi, Obito turns to her. Rin blinks at her friend and teammate, unsure what the look on his face means. "Obito?" she prompts.

“What do you think Minato-Sensei and Kakashi do when we’re not training together?” he asks, voice anxious. He frowns and kicks at an errant pebble on the street. “They live together, remember?”

Rin has actually sort of forgotten they do. Mostly, the two of them are very good at not making it obvious. Quite frequently they don't even show up at the training grounds together. All of that aside, she decides to humor Obito a little. It's pretty clear it is bothering him for some reason and Rin doesn't like to see her friend upset.

“Chores?” she suggests after a moment. That's something she does with her dad when she's not training with Obito and the rest of their team.

He huffs. “Yeah. Okay," he grumbles. "What _else_ though?”

Rin looks down in thought. When a possibility comes to her, she lifts her head and smirks. “I bet Kakashi trains," she says. Rin giggles into her hand and asks Obito, “How much do you want to bet he bullies Minato into joining him?”

Obito's return smile quickly falls and is replaced with an expression of startlement. “What? You think he does that?" he demands, leaning in closer to Rin. He throws up his hands and complains, "That’s not fair! He shouldn’t get extra help just because they live together!”

Rin tries to placate her friend by putting up her hands and saying, “We don’t know that Minato-Sensei teaches him more on our days off. He might train all on his own. Maybe that’s what happens. Minato-Sensei doesn't seem half as obsessive about practicing as Kakashi. He probably likes to relax and spends time with friends when he’s not with us three…”

His eyes become hard and determined. “Let’s find out," declares Obito.

“…How?” asks Rin after a beat, not sure she's going to like the answer that comes out of his mouth.

“We’ll spy on them!”

She holds back a sigh and closes her eyes. “I don’t know, Obito," she replies when she opens them again.

He grabs her hands. “Rin, maybe Minato-Sensei doesn’t train ‘Kashi extra on their days off, but wouldn’t you like to _know_?" he demands, surprisingly persuasive. "That’s the only way we’ll know if we’re getting fair treatment! I want the exact same amount of training as Bakakashi!”

“I…” she stammers. “I want that too," she admits. "I want us to all be strong together.”

He grins, his grip on her hands growing stronger. “So you’ll spy with me?”

She nods. “Yeah.”

Obito lets her go and pumps a fist into the air. “Yahoo!” he cheers. Face bright, he asks, "So, should we spy on them on our next day off? Or do you have plans already?"

-O-

“He does train him extra!” Obito hisses at her as they stare into the clearing Minato-Sensei and Kakashi are occupying. Kakashi is standing off to the side, arms crossed as their teacher appears to try to gather chakra in the palm of his hand.

“Keep it down, Obito, they will hear you!” she snaps back in a fierce mutter, a finger hovering in front of her lips. Obito’s expression turns contrite and she returns her attention back to the clearing.

Kakashi sighs and steps toward Minato-Sensei. She has to strain her ears, but Rin catches the tail-end of what he says to the blond. “…I wish you’d just let me help you.”

Their teacher shakes his head at Kakashi, his expression firm and, maybe, just a little annoyed. She isn’t too sure. Rin hasn’t known Minato-Sensei too long yet and many of his expressions are still foreign to her. “Sorry, ‘Kashi, but if this is my technique, I want to figure it out on my own,” he says. Rin can’t quite place why, but something about that comment seems strange. Also, why is Kakashi, his _student_ trying to help him with something that’s solely his?

“It’d still be yours if I showed you how,” argues Kakashi, brows knit together. “It would just free up your time now and allow you to improve it or come up with other techniques.”

Minato-Sensei lets the chakra in his hand dissipate and reaches over to ruffle Kakashi’s hair. Instead of trying to dodge the hand like usual, Kakashi lets Minato’s fingers tangle in his messy gray locks. If Rin squints, she thinks she can almost see him leaning into the touch. “Maybe that’s true,” says their teacher, “but I’m okay with wasting some time figuring this out on my own. You’ve saved us quite a lot of it already.” Minato untwines his fingers from Kakashi’s hair and gives him a little nudge to step away. “Why don’t you just relax a bit? Go take on one of Gai’s challenges? Read a book?”

Rin’s teammate sighs and goes to flop beneath a nearby tree. Rin feels lucky it’s not their tree he’s under as Kakashi scowls up at the tree’s canopy. “Mah, Gai’s on a mission with his team,” he complains.

Minato-Sensei laughs and smiles. “It’s cute you know that.”

Kakashi ignores him and continues on with his whining. “My favorite books don’t exist yet either.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” murmurs Obito in her ear, making her jolt. She hadn’t expected the question and, honestly, she doesn’t have a clue either. Perhaps if they listen that will change.

She hushes Obito. “Shh!”

“Don’t exist yet, huh?” says Minato-Sensei, once again trying to gather his chakra in his palm.

Their teammate moans and throws his arm over his eyes. “Jiraiya hasn’t even finished his flop yet.”

The chakra in the blond’s hand vanishes and he curses. Then, he sighs and gives up on whatever technique he is trying to do in favor of sitting down next to Kakashi. Knees bent in front of him and elbows resting atop them, he asks, “Oh, he publishes Gutsy Shinobi, does he?”

Kakashi shifts his arm to look at their teacher with one eye. “And some other, more popular works.”

Minato-Sensei smirks and pokes Kakashi’s side with the toe of his sandal.“I didn’t take you for someone who followed the tastes of the masses.” he teases.

Kakashi hums and lets his eyes disappear behind his arm again. “Kushina gave it to me,” says the boy, and Rin has to wrack her brain. She’s pretty sure that’s Minato-Sensei’s girlfriend. “As a joke, I think,” adds Kakashi, huffing a sound that may be a dusty laugh. Rin’s come to notice over their time as a team Kakashi doesn’t really laugh much. Mostly, he just snorts. Sometimes, at Obito, he snickers. 

“A joke?” says the blond, frowning with confusion.

“It’s smut,” replies Kakashi and Rin has to cover her mouth. She’s heard of that stuff. A look at Obito’s red face tells her he has too. Why has Kakashi, though? He’s even smaller than them. Certainly too little for older kids to try and embarrass him with tales of adult entertainment.

Kakashi’s words appear to surprise Minato-Sensei too as his head shoots up from where it rests in the palms of his hands. “What!” he sputters.

Their teammate doesn’t react. In fact, he appears completely nonchalant as he explains, “I’m sure she thought she was pretty clever giving it to a suppressed rule-follower like myself.”

“Kushina!” groans Minato, burying his pink face in his arms.

Instead of trying to comfort their teacher, Kakashi sits up and shrugs his shoulders. “Jiraiya slipped in some pretty important info into the later additions,” he says. Rin’s previous bafflement returns. Slipped? Kakashi said they didn’t _exist_ yet not five minutes ago. “They were pretty important to our victories.”

“…I’m still going to have a talk with her later,” Minato-Sensei grumbles after taking a moment to let Kakashi’s assurance sink in.

Kakashi snorts. “Why? I know we aren’t exactly best friends, but I think we’re getting along better now than we ever did before.”

“You didn’t get along?” says their teacher, his eyes wide and expression crest-fallen.

Unsurprisingly, Kakashi can’t handle looking at their teacher’s face (Rin’s having trouble with it too). Staring off to the side, he says, “We did, for your sake.” Kakashi sighs again and tells Minato-Sensei, “We care a lot about you, and being civil to make you happy was something we both were willing to do.”

“Surely I noticed?” he demands, leaning closer to Rin’s teammate.

He nods. “Of course you did,” he says. “However, I’m not sure you really had time or energy to change it, what with everything else going on. Maybe you hoped our relationship would have become more genuine after Naruto was born.” 

The blond appears to turn this over as his features become thoughtful and he grows quiet. “I can see myself believing that’s what would have happened,” he replies after a beat, words slow and measured.

Kakashi’s eyes curve with a smile. “You probably would have been right.”

Minato returns the grin. “I’m glad it’s not like that now. The three of us living together…” he trails off and his grin turns into a beam of sunshine. “I’ve really enjoyed it so far.”

“I thought he just lived with Sensei?” Rin whispers to Obito after almost pressing herself against him and her lips to his ear. Unlike him, she knows silence is key. Kakashi has already shown he’s a ninja with attuned senses. Minato-Sensei also has almost a decade of experience on them. They’ve been lucky as it is to have gotten to this spot without either noticing them or being picked up on during Obito’s previous questions. She’s not going to be the one to ruin it now by being afraid to get a little close to her teammate.

Obito grows as tense as a bow-string. Finally, he tells her in a strained, slightly high-pitched tone. “Sensei’s girlfriend must have moved in since I visited them last!”

Rin nods but decides against moving. She may want to say more later.

“It hasn’t been as much of a nightmare as I feared either,” admits Kakashi to their teacher.

Minato-Sensei laughs and practically tackles Kakashi. “Ah, ‘Kashi! What kind words!” he gushes, hugging their smaller teammate against his chest.

“Stop! Sensei!” whines Kakashi in a surprisingly childish display for someone who always tries his best to come off at least twice his age. He gives an ineffectual kick of his feet but does not otherwise try to get away from their teacher. Rin suspects it’s because he doesn’t actually hate the affection.

Their teacher stands up, Kakashi still clutched to his chest. “Come on, let’s head back into the village,” he suggests. He loosens his hold on Kakashi and shifts him so Kakashi is made to clamber onto his back. Once their teammate is comfortably situated, Minato hooks his arms under Kakashi’s knees while Kakashi wraps his arms around the blond’s neck. “I’ve had enough training for the day.”

“Can we stop at the archive?” questions Kakashi. “There are some scrolls I want and they wouldn’t let me take them during my last visit.”

As they walk away from Obito and her and towards the path that leads back to the village proper, Minato answers, “Sure. I’ll ask for them.”

“Thank you,” replies their teammate.

Minato’s voice is happy as he says, “Of course, ‘Kashi!”

Once they are definitely far enough away there’s no way they’ll hear them anymore, Rin remarks to Obito, “Okay, that was strange.”

“They talked about stuff like it was the past, but it's stuff that I don’t think has happened yet?” he replies, scratching his head and not looking too certain of what he has said.

She brightens. He’d noticed that too? “Exactly!” she exclaims.

Obito smiles, clearly encouraged by her agreement. “It was Bakashi who was making the weird future-past comments mostly,” he muses. “Minato-Sensei seemed kind of surprised by some of it.”

“You’re right,” she tells Obito as she thinks over the last twenty-ish minutes. Whatever is happening, Rin feels Kakashi let their teacher in on it, not that he’s a part of it.

“…What do we do?” asks Obito looking at her with wide eyes.

She purses her lips. What can they do? “Minato and Kakashi won’t tell us anything if we ask,” she says after a bit of thought. If anything, they’ll come up with an entirely plausible story to tell them together after a few contradictory excuses when they first start to question Minato-Sensei and Kakashi. 

“Especially not Bakashi,” grumbles Obito, crossing his arms as his shoulders droop with dejection.

Instead of falling into her own disappointment, Rin focuses instead on what they _can_ do to get answers. “For now, we should just pay attention,” she advises Obito. “If we do, we’ll probably notice some other odd stuff they say.”

“We could spy some more too,” he adds with a smirk.

She returns it with a smile. Spying on their teacher and teammate had felt like a bad idea this morning, but Rin readily agrees now. It is the only way they are going to have a chance of figuring out this mystery for the time being. “Yeah,” she says.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [boeserFlow](https://archiveofourown.org/users/boeserFlow/pseuds/boeserFlow) suggested a chapter from Obito and/or Rin's pov that gives insight into their feelings on Kakashi and Minato's relationship would be cute. This chapter starts that way even if it does take a bit of a twist there. I hope you and others enjoyed this little pov switch and the new layer it brings.
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	14. Naruto

Kakashi sits in a tree, feet dangling off a branch and elbows on his knees. He tracks Rin and Obito as they finish packing away their things and wave goodbye to Minato-Sensei. They look for him, but he’s hidden just out of sight. Neither are good enough at pin-pointing chakra signatures to find his exact location yet. So, they settle for calling out their farewells in the basic direction they know him to be before leaving.

Obito and Rin are laughing and smiling as they disappear from view. Soon after, his teacher comes to stand at the trunk of the tree he is in. Instead of looking up at Kakashi, he puts his back to the trunk. Minato crosses his legs and ankles, taking on a position of repose.

It is both irksome and comforting. Kushina is at home today, waiting for them. She is cooking a new meal and is excited for them to try it. Yet Kakashi also appreciates that Minato is willing to wait for him. Willing to let him brood when everything on the surface seems perfectly normal. Finally, Kakashi speaks to Sensei. “It will be Rin’s birthday soon.” She will turn eleven as Obito did in the fall. She will still be so young, but if this new year plays out like it did when he was seven the first time, she will kill an enemy soldier barely older than herself. In a handful more years she could be dead too.

Kakashi buries that thought. This time, Rin will live to be so much older. If Kakashi can help it until she’s an old lady like Tsunade and then beyond.

“Oh, you’re right,” says Minato from below. He chuckles and looks up at Kakashi, smiling. “What do you think we should do for it? Take her out for lunch?” 

Is that what they did when he was actually seven? Kakashi honestly doesn’t remember. Rin’s birthday wasn’t half as memorable as their first C-ranked mission.

“‘Kashi?” calls Minato.

“Hm?” he mumbles. Then, realizing he’s not answered his teacher, nods. “Yes, I think she’d like that.”

Minato smiles, though, Kakashi can see there is a slight strain to it. “Maybe we can buy her a little gift too,” he suggests. “What do you think she would appreciate? A new medicine pouch?”

Kakashi nods. “That would be practical.”

“I could talk to Kushina about asking her friends if they know anyone who can embroider it with Rin’s initials,” comments Minato-Sensei. “That’d make it practical and personalized.”

He rolls this over in his mind. Knowing Rin, she would cherish the medicine pouch well past its usefulness. “She’ll adore it,” he answers.

“Why don’t I let you gift it to her?” asks Minato. He grins a bit wider and declares, “I’ll cover lunch and make that my present.”

Kakashi shrugs. He doesn’t really care one way or another. He’s pretty sure even if it’s going to be from “him” Minato will insist on paying for at least half of the pouch. If he knew he could win the argument, he’d insist on paying for it all. “If you think that’s best,” he answers, flippant.

Minato’s smile fades. “You don’t sound too enthused, ‘Kashi.”

Absently, he begins to swing his feet. Memories are starting to shine freshly in his mind’s eye like an abandoned sword being cleaned of dirt and rust. “The first time, I gave her a new set of kunai for her birthday,” he tells his teacher. Kakashi wonders, did Rin use one of them to kill her that enemy nin at eleven? If he doesn’t gift her the knives, will she still manage it? Or will she be the one who dies?

He doesn’t know.

“I’m sure she liked that,” says Minato with a snort.

He almost smiles in spite of his worries. “Rin’s very gracious.”

“You’re right. She is a sweet girl,” agrees Minato with a smirk. Then, more seriously, he remarks, “I hope you did better in later years.”

The answer is no, he didn’t. Yet that’s the last thing he’ll say to his teacher. “I should probably tell Obito what I’ll be giving her.” Maybe when he does he can convince Obito to give her the kunai he won’t be this time. “He’ll want to be sure to get her something better.”

“Yeah,” agrees Minato with bright, amused eyes. He hesitates, but inquires all the same, “Can I ask, did he ever get a chance to confess to Rin before he, well…”

“No,” answers Kakashi, shaking his head. “I know Obito is pretty obvious to us, but he actually did have a halfway decent handle on acting mostly normal with Rin.” He drops from the tree and lands next to his teacher. Kakashi doesn’t know what compels him, but he adds, “Unlike your son.”

Minato flushes at his words. Whether it’s from pleasure, embarrassment, or a mixture of the two, Kakashi can’t quite tell. “Naruto had a crush on one of his teammates, did he?” asks Minato with a smirk.

He nods at his teacher who stares down at him.“Yes, Sakura.”

He puts a hand on his chin in thought. “The one Tsunade mentored?” he questions.

“Yes.”

Minato laughs some more. “How did that turn out?” 

“Naruto outgrew it,” he answers. “Sakura was never interested in him in a romantic sense.”

Minato’s face turns into a sympathetic expression. “Aw, poor kid,” he murmurs.

Honestly, he thinks it’s for the best. The two of them as a couple would have been prone to loud fights and louder making up. Their kids probably would be freakishly strong too. He isn’t sure the world would survive a world full of Uzumaki-Haruno brats. “Mh,” he replies, noncommittal.

Minato is quiet for a time before he says, “Hey, ‘Kashi?”

“Yes, Sensei?” prompts Kakashi when he doesn’t go on.

“We never really talk about Naruto,” he comments.

Suddenly uncomfortable, he shifts on his feet. They don’t really talk about him. For a lot of reasons. Mostly because Kakashi always feels like a failure when he dwells too much on Naruto. Minato has been so… And he was _so…_ “I guess we can a little,” he tells his teacher. He clears his throat. “I just feel bad about him, I suppose.”

Minato blinks at him, astonished at his admission. “Why?”

He looks to his feet. “I wasn’t ever really there for him when he was little and I don’t think I was a terribly good teacher for him later either,” he admits.

“Huh?” murmurs Sensei.

He swallows. “I should have tried to do more,” he explains. “When he was growing up, the village treated him as a pariah. Yet the closest I ever allowed myself to be was when I would be a part of his guard detail.” Balling his hands into fists, Kakashi continues his rant, “I could have bumped into him sometimes and said hi even if I wasn’t allowed to act in a familial or friend role.”

Minato crouches down next to him and tries to pat his back. Kakashi steps away from him, feeling undeserving of comfort. Even so, his teacher assures him, “It’s okay, I understand the Hokage was only trying to keep everyone safe.”

Even though it hurts, Kakashi stares into blue eyes that look just like Naruto’s and spits, “I was a lousy teacher too when I was finally allowed to interact with him in a meaningful way. I should have taught him more and focused less on Sasuke.”

Minato tries again to comfort him with kind hands. “Kakashi…”

“When I go back, I’ll be a better mentor if he lets me,” he declares.

“Oh, ‘Kashi,” breathes Minato before he moves far too fast for Kakashi to dodge and wraps him in an embrace.

“Sensei?” says Kakashi as he squirms against the arms holding him. “Why are you hugging me? Don’t you understand? I didn’t treat your son half as well as you treat and treated me.”

“I wish you could have been more active in Naruto’s life, I won’t lie to you,” his teacher mutters into his ear, causing the hairs to stand on the back of his neck. “But I… I think I understand why it wasn’t allowed.” 

He pulls Kakashi away from his chest but does not let him go. Forcing Kakashi to stare into his eyes, Minato explains, “You were fourteen, you knew nothing about babies, and had just survived a war where you lost _everyone._ ” He seems pained as he admits, “The third was right to not let you, a grieving teenager, try to raise a baby on your own. Even if Naruto was mine and you did love him.” The pain bleeds from his features and is replaced with an impishness that Kakashi is more familiar with seeing on Naruto or Kushina’s faces. “If you had, I’m pretty sure someone, probably an ignorant villager, would have ended up dead.”

“…I did get kicked off guard duty for a while when I broke the arm of a civilian who attempted to throw a bottle at Naruto when he was five,” he admits after a beat.

Minato sighs. “I’m not surprised you did.”

While Kakashi may be able to admit now that Naruto’s early childhood was mostly out of his hands, he cannot agree that what happened later isn’t his fault. “I could have been a better teacher,” he insists.

“Maybe,” agrees Minato with pursed lips as he finally releases Kakashi from his superior grip.

Kakashi puffs out his chest and demands, “Why aren’t you mad about that?”

He exhales. “Kakashi, I see you even now get frustrated with your teammates when they don’t understand things as quickly as you’d like.”

He doesn’t get it. What does that have to do with being a poor teacher to Naruto? Besides Rin and Obito _are_ irritating at times. What Minato-Sensei is teaching them isn’t hard. “All of the stuff you show us is _rudimentary_ ,” he grumbles, crossing his arms.

Minato groans into his hands. Through his fingers, he mumbles, “To you, ‘Kashi. To _you_.”

He blinks. That's not true. This stuff is basics everyone can pick up with a little effort. Right? “I know everyone’s brain isn’t as fast as mine, but…” he mumbles, trailing off.

His teacher exhales and runs a hand through his hair. “Yeah, I understand," he confesses. "I sometimes have to pause and slow down too.”

Kakashi worries his lip beneath his mask. “I’m not very good at that," he admits after a beat.

His teacher hides a snicker behind his hand. “No, you aren’t.”

For a moment, he's annoyed. Then trepidation takes him. “You’re really not mad?” he questions, unsure.

“No, ‘Kashi,” assures Minato. “I’m not. I know you. I know you tried to be there for Naruto to the best of your abilities.”

The knots his stomach has tied itself in begin to loosen. “Thanks, Minato-Sensei,” he says. Then, because he wants to make his teacher proud and happy, promises, “I’ll continue to do my best by him." He grins, feeling Minato will be quite excited by what he says next. "He wants to be the Hokage and I think I can help him be that.”

Minato brightens and laughs before he sweeps Kakashi up into his arms once again. With Kakashi on his hip, Minato tells Kakashi, “I’m sure you can. Thank you, Kakashi, for helping my son reach his dream.”

“You’re welcome," he replies, leaning against his teacher's shoulder, basking in the happiness the blond is exuding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [lumos_solem](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lumos_solem/pseuds/lumos_solem) asked for a chapter where Minato and Kakashi discuss Naruto. I hope this chapter meets some of your expectations. 
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	15. Hooky with Shisui

“Uh, who do you have there, Obito?” asks Minato-Sensei.

The little figure with Obito is mostly hidden behind his teammate, but Kakashi thinks he knows who it is. He wonders, how old is he now? Two? Three? Obito stops mid-stride and presses his hands together and ducks his head. “I’m sorry, Sensei!” he apologizes. Twisting around, he pulls forward the unmistakable (if much rounder) face of Uchiha Shisui. “This is a cousin, Shisui.”

“Shisui…” Kakashi murmurs.

Saying the name brings on a wave of sadness, a touch of anger. Kakashi hadn't worked closely with him ever, not like he had Itachi, but he respected the other shinobi and his skill all the same. He's sorry Shisui had been in the position where he had to try to stop the coup d'état nearly all on his own. He's angry no one tried to give Shisui more help. At least this time, Shisui will not have to die trying to stop a civil war in their village.

Rin approaches the two. She puts her hands on her knees and crouches down to Shisui’s height. “Hello!” she says with a grin.

He gives a tiny smile of his own, infected by Rin's kindness (as so many are). “Hi.”

“Why did you bring your cousin to training?” asks Minato, coming to stand at Rin's side. He places his hands on his hips and is smiling at the three, but his gaze is sharp when it finds Obito’s.

Kakashi’s teammate shrinks into himself, shoulders hunching up near his ears. “So, my _other_ cousin Mikoto was supposed to watch him today for his mom,” he starts. “But like literally twenty minutes ago she turned up at Gran and mine’s and asked if we could because I guess her fiancé’s Dad fell suddenly ill and she needed to go help.”

Minato nods. “And your Gran sent him to training with you.”

Obito sighs. “It was my uncle’s idea,” he explains with a frown. “He was checking in on Gran and me this morning. He said I needed to be in charge of Shisui because Gran has a bad knee and we can’t have her getting hurt trying to chase him around the house.” 

“Ah.” Minato’s hand finds his hair again. There, it tangles in his messy blond locks. “Did you tell him about training today?”

The boy’s expression becomes even more despondent. “He said family comes first.”

Minato looks to the bare tree branches above them. “Of course he did,” he grumbles.

Obito claps his hands together and turns a watery, contrite stare on the blond. “I’m really, really sorry Sensei!” he cries. Grabbing onto the toddler, he gives the boy a light shake, making Shisui blink with startlement. “Look, Shisui is actually a really good listener for three.” He gestures to the tree where Kakashi, Rin, and Minato-Sensei have put their lunches and other things. “I’ll give him a ration bar and a blunt kunai from home and he’ll be happy playing over here while we train.”

Their teacher crosses his arms. “We can’t do that.”

“No, really, we can!” Obito tries to assure.

Kakashi, for his part, doesn't see why Minato-Sensei is rejecting Obito's suggestion. He remembers Shisui as being a pretty obedient and mild person. Surely even at three-years-old, they could trust him to stay in one spot more or less and to watch them train?

"Why not?” he calls out as Rin, who appears rather taken with the toddler, ruffles his hair and asks:

“Can I help you watch him Obito?”

“One at a time, guys!” says Minato-Sensei, voice slightly elevated as he looks from Obito to Rin, to Kakashi over his shoulder. Their teacher takes in a breath before he puts on a smile. “Obito, I know you don’t want to let your team down.” He puts a hand on the boy's shoulder and pushes his smile wider and tilts his head. “However, you’re not, okay? Things pop up. We can’t train with a toddler on the grounds. That’s just a recipe for disaster.” He shoots a reproving look at Kakashi. “They’re terrible listeners.”

“ _I_ practiced and watched Dad practice on training grounds at his age," says Kakashi, feeling a bit put-out at the look his teacher was giving him.

Rin's head whips around, her eyes large with surprise. “Really?”

“Okay, and that wasn’t without incident, was it?" asks Minato. "I remember about the time _you_ would have been three Jiraiya passed along a story your dad told him where Sakumo had to rush you to the hospital because you dropped one of his swords on your foot when you were trying to test its heft.”

Kakashi turns his gaze to his feet. He thinks he knows what scar his teacher is talking about. it's a silver line that he really only remembers is a scar when the light catches it these days. Since he got it, he's forgotten its origins. Kakashi looks back up at his stern-faced teacher and horrified teammates. “That’s where that scar is from?”

“You don’t remember?” sputters Obito. He puts a hand around his cousin, drawing the toddler against his side as if he wants to protect him from Kakashi's misfortune.

He shrugs. What good answer is there? None, as far as Kakashi can see. Maybe if he were really seven he'd recall the scar's inception, but now? He's been injured too much over the years. “I’ve been hurt a lot," he admits.

"Oh," whispers Rin, eyes sad.

Kakashi rolls his eyes. It's not _sad_ , that's just the life of a shinobi. He looks to Minato-Sensei for comradery but sees the man is barely concealing his own wince. He huffs and kicks at the dirt. "Being hurt is part of becoming a strong shinobi."

"Yeah," says Obito, surprising Kakashi. The older boy won't meet his gaze as he adds, "That's true. Shisui, though, is still pretty small. My family would be mad if I brought him home hurt." He looks down at his cousin's head, forlorn. "So we're going to have to sit out training."

"I can sit it out today too," offers Rin, determined. She smiles once again at Shisui who has been looking from each of their faces with an acuity uncommon to most toddlers. However, Kakashi didn't think it looked wrong on Shisui at all. Someday he will be an exceptional ninja. One who even Itachi looks up to. "Being a good teammate means helping each other out, right?"

"That's right," agrees Minato, grinning at them. "You know what? I think we can all take the day off. This will be a… bonding exercise in itself if we all do it together."

He sighs and crosses his arms. Kakashi knows Shisui isn't quite as boring as many three-year-olds, but still. Taking a day off _actual_ training to occupy him seems wasteful. "Really Sensei?" he grumbles.

“Yes, ‘Kashi," answers Minato, shooting him a warning look. He gestures for Kakashi to join the rest of them. "Come on, today will be fun. We can maybe see if there’s a D-Rank mission we could do with him in tow. Or take him to a park if there isn't.”

Obito, whose spirit has slowly returned over the course of the conversation crouches down next to his cousin and slaps his knees. “I bet you’d like that, right, Shisui?" he asks, earning a small quirk of Shisui's mouth for his efforts. The older boy snickers. "Maybe the daimyo’s wife’s cat has gotten lost again! We could see things all over the village while we look for it!”

The toddler bobs his head. "I like the village," he says.

Kakashi's teammate's cheeks flush with pleasure. "Of course you do!" he exclaims. "It's why we Uchihas become shinobi! We want to protect it."

Shisui returns Obito's enthusiasm, his own face now pink. "Yeah!"

He rolls his eyes, but beneath his mask, Kakashi smiles. It's no wonder Shisui held such adoration for the village as a whole with Obito encouraging such protective thoughts in him.

-O-

There hadn't been any easy D-Rank missions for them to take on. So, instead of training or doing a mission, Minato-Sensei has them wasting their time at a children's playground. Kakashi can't help but be annoyed. He and his teacher are sitting on the little play area's two swings. Minato is idly kicking himself back and forth while Kakashi sits on his swing, hands clenched around the chains holding his seat in place.

"This is stupid," he complains.

The blond rolls his eyes. "I don't know, Obito and Rin seem to be having fun," he says, gesturing over at the pair who are chasing Shisui on and under the playground's climbing structure.

He glowers at Minato-Sensei. "They're eleven."

His teacher sighs and gets up. Crouching down in front of Kakashi, he tells him, "And as far as anyone can tell, you're seven."

Maybe that's true. Yet he's also carrying the rank of someone who's supposed to be so much more capable and mature. Not to mention the memories and experiences of being a thirty-year-old jonin and ex-ANBU. Even when he was truly this age, he'd steered clear of any place where he could be mistaken for being just a little boy. 

It's hard enough getting the respect he deserves in the _right_ settings.

"I'm a chunin," he counters.

"And I'm a jonin," replies Minato, hand splayed across his flak jacket.

"You at least look it," he bites back, only to amend, "more or less." Minato is a _little_ on the young-side for his rank. Kakashi remembers in their early years as a team sometimes older jonin sometimes tried to assert authority over Minato like he wasn't their equal. He waves an arm at some mothers and sitters chatting on the park's benches. "No one ever mistakes you for being just another brat."

Minato's shoulders fall. "Ah, and here I'd thought the years had relaxed you and you didn't care what others think of you anymore," he says.

He turns his head away and pretends to reject his teacher's words. "Hmph." Really, though, they hit their mark. Kakashi had thought the same about himself. Yet… The longer he is here, that he is a seven-year-old chunin, that he deals with the disregard of fellow ninja; and rejection from the village as a whole? The more it is getting to him. It's just so _intense_ now. 

It comes from everywhere and everyone and sometimes he seriously can't remember how he survived all of this before.

"Kakashi?" calls out a new, young voice.

He blinks and twists around to find the source of the little voice. "Hm?" he murmurs with surprise when he spots Iruka.

"Kakashi!" the boy repeats, grinning widely. He runs over to join him at the swings. When he is beside Kakashi, he notices Minato. "Hello!" he says to the blond. He looks at Kakashi, almost squinting. "Is this your big brother?"

He is startled into laughing. Kakashi doesn't know where Iruka got that idea. He and Minato-Sensei don't share a single physical characteristic. "Teacher," he answers.

Iruka scrunches his face. "Oh!" he exclaims suddenly, seeming to realize something. "You've got a Hitai-ate too," he says, pointing at the one on Kakashi's forehead. "Are you graduated from the Academy?"

"I am."

Iruka's mouth drops open. "Wow!" he exclaims. Iruka sidles closer and looks Kakashi up down before putting a level hand a few centimeters above his head. "You're not much bigger than me. I start there next year."

Kakashi nods. "I was a bit of a special case and graduated shortly after I began."

"That's so cool!" gushes Iruka, pumping his fists into the air.

He makes a noise of agreement and casts his gaze out to the direction Iruka had come from. He doesn't see Mrs. Umino. Or a man who looks like he could be Iruka's father. "Are you playing here today?" he asks the boy.

"Huh?" Iruka says, smile falling a moment. "Oh, yeah," he answers with a little laugh as he looks around the playground. "My Dad had some errands an' he left me here to wait because he thought I'd like it more."

"Ah."

"D'you want to play with me?" asks Iruka, pointing at the play structure. He pouts. "There aren't a lot of other kids close to my age."

"Shisui is three," replies Kakashi, pointing over at the boy as Obito swings him into the air after catching him.

Iruka bites his lip. "Oh, but he's playing with those big kids."

"Those are my teammates," says Kakashi as he gets up from the swing. "We're helping Obito," he points at the older boy, "watch Shisui today. His parents are busy like your dad."

"Will they want to play with me?" asks Iruka, looking at his feet and then at Rin, Obito, and Shisui.

"Of course they will," answers Kakashi. He grabs the other's hand. "Come on." Pulling Iruka along with him, he ignores his smirking teacher in favor of going up to Obito and Rin.

"Oh, so you're joining us, huh?" jeers Obito, hands on his hips as Rin sighs behind him, a hand on her cheek.

Kakashi maneuvers Iruka to stand next to him instead of behind him. "So is Iruka."

"Iruka?" murmurs Rin, looking at the smaller boy.

Iruka musters up a smile for the two. "Hi!"

"Erh, hello," mumbles Obito. "You know 'Kashi?"

The boy bobs his head. "He helped me find my mom when I got lost a while ago."

"Oh! I remember that time," Rin exclaims, coming to stand with them. She shoots Kakashi a smile. "Kakashi is usually very timely for our training sessions."

Iruka makes a noise of understanding. Then he looks at his feet and asks, "Um, it's okay I play with you guys, right?"

"Of course it is!" assures Obito with a big grin. "We're just playing chase," he explains. Then with a laugh and smirk at his little cousin, says, "I got to warn you, Shisui is super fast for being so little!"

"I don't mind," replies Iruka, beaming. He tugs on Kakashi's hand, which joins them still. "C'mon, 'Kashi!" he urges. They take off and Shisui starts to chase them.

-O-

When they are alone, turning the corner onto the street they live on, Minato, who's been surprisingly silent during their walk home, asks, "So did you have fun?"

Kakashi levels his teacher with an unimpressed stare and recites the very uninteresting events of the day to the blond. "We ran around for two hours straight until Iruka's dad showed up and took him home. We then ate lunch. After which Shisui fell asleep and Obito decided to call it a day and carried him off to their compound."

"I will take that as a yes," he says after a beat.

He sighs. Kakashi guesses it was not as unpleasant a day as he'd initially thought it would be. "…It wasn't the worst way to spend a day not training."

"What praise," teases Minato. His teacher rubs his chin. "You know, it was actually pretty impressive how well Shisui kept up with all of you, being so little and all."

"There's a reason they called him Shisui of the Body Flicker," replies Kakashi. "He grows to be unmatched for speed."

Minato whistles. "Wow," he says, tone impressed. "The Uchiha really produce some powerhouses this decade, don't they?"

"They really do."

His teacher's expression grows pensive and he stops.

Kakashi frowns and looks up at Minato-Sensei. "Sensei?" he asks.

"Kakashi, do you really think we can stop the massacre?" he questions.

"I think we can, Sensei. We have fifteen years almost. Surely with that much time and what we know, we can change things."

Minato nods and confidence returns to his features. "Yeah, you're right." He smiles down at Kakashi. "We can do it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	16. A Friendly Hospital Visit

Kakashi notices Genma walking across the street from him, but doesn’t react. Right now, Genma doesn’t really know him. Before they didn’t get to know each other until they were both on guard duty for Minato when he was Hokage.

It’s a little different now. Their teams have had a handful of sparring sessions together over the last few months where they have interacted. Even so, Kakashi hasn’t done much more than exchange a hello with Genma. Gai has taken up all of his attention when their teams aren’t scrimmaging.

As they start to pass each other, Kakashi is happy to stare ahead and not give the twelve-year-old even a second glance. However, it seems Genma isn’t of the same mindset as he stops mid-step and gives Kakashi an appraising look. He keeps walking. Kakashi doesn’t know Genma at this age, but he knows that look and he’s not sure he wants to indulge it.

“Hey!” calls Genma after him. 

Kakashi could pretend to not hear him. Or he could pretend to not realize Genma is talking to him. However, they are both bad ideas. They are too close and Genma will run after him. So, he gives up on his plan for heading to the archive and turns around to stare up at Genma.

The brunet smiles and wriggles a finger at Kakashi. “C’mere,” he urges.

He sighs and trudges over to the older boy. “What do you want?”

Genma shoves his hands into the pockets of his over-large black coat. “You know my teammate, Gai?” 

He resists the urge to roll his eyes. “Our teams have sparred four times together in the last five months,” he says flatly. Genma stares at him. “Yes, I know Gai.”

“Uh, yeah,” replies Genma. He points at himself. “I’m Genma. Shiranui Genma.”

Kakashi glares. He _knows_. At actual age seven, he’d known Genma’s (family) name. “I remember.”

He lowers his gaze to his feet. “Right,” he mumbles. When Genma looks back up at him, he tells Kakashi, “I stopped you ‘cause I thought you might want to know. Gai’s in the hospital right now.”

Panic spikes in his chest. “Why?” he demands sharply, startling Genma with his intensity of emotion. Kakashi breathes and reigns himself in. Gai can’t be too badly hurt. Genma wouldn’t be so calm if his condition is serious. “What happened?” he asks in a calmer, more neutral tone.

“He’s fine!” assures Genma. “Well, he will be,” he corrects, rubbing the back of his neck. “He kind of overdid it on our last mission and broke one of his legs and a wrist.” 

Kakashi feels the last of the tension in his frame dissipate. That’s Gai all right. “Of course he did,” he grumbles.

“So, uh, he’s kind of down,” continues Genma. He hesitates. “Would you visit him some time?” the other boy asks. “He talks about you a lot and it probably would make him happy.”

He nods. “I can.”

His answer appears to take Genma aback. “Really?” he says before smiling. “Thanks, Hatake.”

Internally, he winces. Genma hasn’t called him that since their first couple of months on guard duty for Minato. It’s… Strange hearing someone he thinks of as a friend be so formal with him. Kakashi knows he can’t be upset with Genma for his deference. Actual seven-year-old him would have preferred it.

At least this is easy to change, unlike so many things.

“It’s Kakashi,” he corrects.

Genma’s eyes widen slightly and, then, he laughs. “Thanks, Kakashi.” 

Instead of making a big deal out of what had just transpired, he inquires, “When should I visit?”

“Uh…” says Genma intelligently. Casting his gaze off to the side, Genma appears to see something as he nods his head. “You know what?” he says, “I got sent out to find something to cheer Gai up by my Sensei. I was thinking about balloons. Crossing paths with you on the way to the store was a stroke of luck.” He turns himself around so he’s standing next to Kakashi. He smiles down at him. “Want to tag along getting the balloons and we can visit him after?”

That’s as good a plan as any. Not to mention the archives will still be open an hour or two from now. He can still accomplish his original goal and this new one today. “Fine,” he agrees.

This appears to please Genma as his smile brightens further before they start to walk in the direction of a nearby corner store. When they reach it, Genma hastily opens the door for Kakashi and ushers him in before he enters himself. Once inside, Genma has them make a beeline for the balloons. 

Together, they stare at the bunches hanging above their head in their netted display. After a beat, Genma looks at him. “What do you think he’d like?”

“Green, obviously,” answers Kakashi, pointing at a pair of smaller-sized star-shaped green balloons.

Genma snorts. “Yeah, stupid question.” Using his superior height, he lifts himself on his toes and grabs the strings of the balloons Kakashi had pointed at. Once they are in hand, he rubs his chin with his other hand and squints some more at the selection. “So, we’re getting these two,” he says. He reaches up again and pulls down a blue and yellow balloon with blocky white writing on it that reads “Get Well Soon!”. He presents it to Kakashi. “How’s this one for completing our bunch?”

“That would be appropriate,” he replies. Kakashi’s eyes then drift down the aisle towards the display of greeting cards. He sees two more familiar faces are also shopping at this store. It’s Kurenai and Asuma. The two ten (eleven? He’s not sure exactly when their birthdays are) year olds are lost in a discussion about different cards they have in their hands.

“Let’s go pay,” declares Genma. Kakashi walks away from him and towards the future couple. Genma’s head swivels around to follow him. “Huh?” 

It doesn’t take much longer for him to notice Kurenai and Asuma as Kakashi had.

Jogging after Kakashi, Genma catches up to him and waves at the two, and says, “Hey Asuma! Kurenai.” 

“Genma!” greets Asuma, grinning. “You’re back from your mission. How did that go?”

Genma sighs and makes a motion with his hand. “Eh, so-so," he answers. "We accomplished our goal, but Ebisu got pretty battered and Gai’s laid up in the hospital with some broken bones…”

Kurenai's eyes soften. “We’re sorry to hear that," she murmurs.

Genma pushes a smile onto his face. “Ah, it’s fine," he assures the kunoichi. "Lessons were learned and we’ll be better next time.”

Kakashi, who from his height, can't really make out the cards the two are holding, asks, “What are you doing here?”

“Hm?” murmurs Asuma, blinking with surprise before looking down at Kakashi.

“Hello," says Kurenai, startled herself. "Sorry, we didn’t notice you, Hatake.”

He frowns behind his mask. “Kakashi is fine," he tells them.

“Kakashi," tests Asuma, expression thoughtful.

“We’re looking at cards,” supplies Kurenai, lowering the card in her hand down to Kakashi's eye-level. It's a congratulation card. “Our Sensei just told us her boyfriend proposed over the weekend.”

“Oh yeah?” replies Genma. “Will that change anything for you guys?”

“She says it won’t," replies Asuma. “At least not right now," he explains looking uneasy.

Kurenai nods. "Her fiancé has agreed that it’s important to see us through at least our first chunin exam before they think about kids.”

Kakashi can tell both aren't overly confident about what they're saying. He understands. Their sensei is about to wed the (future) Hyuga clan head. It's happened more than once that a kunoichi is pressured out of active duty in favor of continuing and raising her husband's line after marriage. He wishes he could tell them that their teacher doesn't let that happen and she keeps her promise to them.

“That’s a relief, huh?” says Genma, though he also sounds uncertain.

Kurenai sighs. "Sensei is so kind and understanding,” she says in an admiring if sad way. “I think losing her so soon after we became a team would really set us back.” She looks to her teammate. "Don’t you agree, Asuma?”

He nods. “Yeah," he answers, tone glum.

Genma looks away and clears his throat. “Well, pass along our congratulations," he says. He waves his handful of balloons. "We have to buy these balloons and get back before my Sensei wonders where I’ve gotten to.”

“They’re for Gai, right?” asks Asuma looking up at them.

“Yeah," replies Genma. "To help cheer him up.”

“You should come with," suggests Kakashi. "Gai is somebody who actually believes in more the merrier.”

The pair laugh. “Sure!” agrees Kurenai. She turns her attention back to the display of greeting cards. “We can get him a card like Sensei.”

Asuma bobs his head along with Kurenai's words and scans over the cards before he pulls one out from the top of the display. He presents it to them. On it, there is a turtle on its back with its feet flailing in the air. “How about this one with a turtle?" asks Asuma before he turns it back around to look inside. He grins at whatever message he finds within. "He probably will like it, right?”

Kakashi purses his lips. “He likes tortoises,” he tells the older boy, which earns him a quizzical look. He holds back a sigh. Asuma probably doesn't even know the difference. “I think he’ll appreciate the thought anyway," he says.

Kurenai smiles at him and giggles. “Wow, you know Gai pretty well.”

“He’s my rival," he answers simply.

Asuma puts his hands on his hips and laughs. “Oh yeah?”

Genma, who's also always ready to have fun at his expense it seems, nudges him in the shoulder. “Kakashi, who’s winning at your challenges right now?”

Kakashi wishes he could say he doesn't know what Genma's talking about. Yet that's not going to get them off his back. Gai has no doubt been regaling at the very least Genma and Ebisu with tales of their competitions. Honestly, he's just madder he has to say it's not him who won their last challenge. “Gai _did_ win our last contest," he grumbles.

Surprise flutters over the faces of Asuma and Kurenai.

Kakashi adds, "It was a hopping contest. He is taller, so it’s not too shocking he jumped higher than I did.” The future couple nod, but he can tell they want to laugh at him. They think he is a sore loser. Honestly, he kind of is being one as he boasts, “But overall, I’m winning.” Feeling a little bad after the words leave him, he declares, “Later, when he’s older, we’ll be more evenly matched.”

“You sound pretty confident about that," comments Kurenai, eyes kind. It reminds Kakashi she's one of the few people in their generation that really took Gai seriously before he proved his true capabilities when he became a chunin. He's glad Gai has people who respect him in the past. He hopes when this is over and he's home in the future the actual seven-year-old Kakashi treats Gai with far less scorn than he did before.

"He always strives to be better and stronger no matter what," he supplies and Kurenai's eyes turn downright gooey while Asuma beside her grows thoughtful. Kakashi barely stops himself from jumping when Genma's hand settles on his shoulder.

He hadn't been expecting Genma would be so tactile so soon after showing he wants to be friendly. Kakashi lifts his face to gaze up at the older boy. He's grinning as he says, “Ha, you have a point.” He pulls at Kakashi. To him, Kurenai, and Asuma, he urges, “Let’s go make our purchases and see him now.”

-O-

“Genma!” cries out Choza when they open the door to Gai's hospital room. Kakashi only catches a glimpse of the large man's vexed expression as he starts to rant, “I sent you out—” he stops when he, Asuma, and Kurenai shuffle in behind Genma. He stares, open-mouthed. “Oh, you brought friends.”

Genma only smiles at his teacher before he shoves the balloons at the man. "Here," he says before going over to Gai who's hurriedly turning over in his bed to see the "friends" his teammate brought. Gai blinks at all of them standing in the doorway. “Huh?” he murmurs before he spots Kakashi hidden slightly behind Asuma. His eyes light up “Kakashi! My rival!” he yells and he tries to leap from the bed to meet him.

Except Genma grabs him in time and holds him in place in his bed.“Gai!" he chides his teammate.

The other boy appears to realize what a big mistake he was about to make and laughs. "Ah, my apologies Genma!" he says before he smiles at Asuma and Kurenai. "And hello to you also, Kurenai and Asuma!”

“Hi Gai,” replies Kurenai before moving over to the bed and handing over the card she and Asuma bought for him. "This is for you."

Gai looks it over and then breaks into expounding his delight over the card and gives his most heartfelt thanks to the pair. While this happens, Genma apologizes to his teacher. "Sorry, Choza-Sensei," he says. "I ran into everyone and thought they would cheer Gai up a lot faster than just some balloons."

Choza sighs. "I think you're right," he says as he watches Gai chatter animatedly with Asuma and Kurenai. "Good job, Genma."

The boy's face pinkens slightly, clearly happy to have earned the jonin's gratitude. He then looks around. "Where's Ebisu?" he asks.

"I sent him home a little while ago," he replies. "He was falling asleep in his chair and given he wasn't that much better off than Gai, it felt right to tell him to rest up at home at least for the next day or two."

Genma nods his understanding and Choza turns his eyes on Kakashi. "Not training today, kid?"

He shakes his head. "Sensei is on a mission."

"What about your teammates?"

Kakashi shrugs. Sometimes he tries to do things with the two when Minato-Sensei is busy, but usually, he leaves them to their own devices. "They're probably helping their families with chores and errands," he answers. At least Obito is. His grandmother is quite old and can't do a lot of intensive cleaning on her own. And Obito's uncle seems to enjoy volunteering his teammate for errands around the Uchiha compound to "keep him out of trouble".

Rin lives with just her dad. He's pretty sure she is in charge of a lot of the household tasks because her dad is also frequently gone on missions like many jonin of his skill-level.

"Well, Gai will be in the hospital at least another day," says Choza. "If they have time, and you all want to, you're welcome to visit Gai again tomorrow."

He dips his chin in agreement. "Sure," he answers. He is then pulled from his conversation with the jonin by Genma ruffling his hair. "Come on," he tells Kakashi. "We still need to give Gai his balloons."

"I didn't buy them," he points out.

Genma rolls his eyes. "You helped choose them," he says. Grabbing the balloons from his teacher and then Kakashi's hand, Genma calls out to his teammate, "Gai! Look what Kakashi and I picked out for you…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Elielhime](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elielhime/pseuds/Elielhime) requested a chapter with Genma, Asuma, and Gai. I've also included a couple of others! I hope you, and everyone else, like this chapter.
> 
> Thanks for reading


	17. An Afternoon with Rin

Kakashi, who is in a foul mood, becomes unhappier when someone knocks on his apartment door. Kushina, from where she is seated on the couch, doesn't bother to even glance at him as she blows on her freshly painted fingernails. "You gonna get that?" she asks.

He glowers at her, tightening the grip he has on the shuriken he's sharpening, as another knock sounds from the door. "Why can't you?" he demands. Surely she can manage to open the door even if her nails are still a little damp.

Kushina looks up at him from her fingernails, nostrils flaring. "One," she says.

Kakashi huffs. "One _what_?" he sneers.

Her chakra flares threateningly as she continues her count, "Two, three, so help me if I reach fi—"

He gets to his feet. "Fine!" he snaps, trying to act like her vague threat is more annoying than scary. Stomping to the front door, he throws it open to see one of his teammates on the other side. “Rin?” he says to the girl.

She winces. “Erh, hi," she mumbles before looking to her toes, fingers twisting in her shirt.

“Are you… Okay?” he asks, feeling concerned by her nervous demeanor.

“Fine!” she assures, head snapping up and a saccharine smile plastered on her face. Her eyes dart behind him, searching what she can see of his apartment. “Aren’t you usually training or studying in the archives by this time in the morning?” she questions.

He nods. “Yes, but—”

“He’s under house arrest," breaks in Kushina as she appears behind him, one of her hands coming to rest heavily on his shoulder.

He wants to ruin her lurid orange nails.

“Kushina!” says Rin, relief in her tone.

“What can we do for you, kiddo?” asks the kunoichi as she steps back, bringing Kakashi with her, and ushering in the girl. “Minato’s on his mission for another day and I’m pretty sure he assigned you guys independent training till he gets back.”

Rin shifts from foot to foot. “Um,” she says, glancing from Kushina to Kakashi to her toes once more. “Well…”

Kakashi who's slowly growing irritated, presses, "What is it, Rin?"

The girl's face turns pink, but she doesn't answer.

"Oh," says Kushina as if she's had a revelation.

He looks up at the teenager and furrows his brows. "What?" he asks her.

Kushina ignores him in favor of reaching over to Rin and gently tapping her chin. When she looks up, Kushina smiles. “Would you like me to send the brat off to his room for a minute?”

Rin shakes her head. “I can’t ask that!" she refuses. "This is Kakashi’s house.”

“Brat, scram," says Kushina, not looking at him.

Kakashi scowls. While he doesn't _really_ have a problem leaving, because Rin obviously is embarrassed to talk with him in the room, he also doesn't want to listen to Kushina right now. “I thought you didn’t want me out of your sight," he jeers at Kushina, earning a look of outrage from her for his troubles.

“Please! Don’t fight," begs Rin, stepping between them, hands up. “It’s, um, a _woman_ thing," she admits, eyes back on her feet and face red.

Kakashi winces. He should have just left. The glare Kushina is sending at him is both reproachful and smug. _She_ had realized this is Rin's problem without being told. Kakashi knows she's going to tease him later about his intelligence (and he will deserve every bit of it.)

"My dad… He got really embarrassed when I tried to ask for his help and said I should go see one of my friends about it," Rin explains, wringing her shirt. "I would have gone to Kurenai, but she’s busy training with her team and well." She stops talking and shrugs.

Kushina bends down to Rin's height and puts a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay," she assures Rin. After the girl looks up and gives Kushina a small smile, the kunoichi's eyes flicker to Kakashi. “‘Kashi, go put on the kettle," she orders.

“Right," he agrees without complaint. As he goes into the kitchen, he hears the two start to discuss Rin's issues more in detail. Kakashi starts to recite Icha-Icha Paradise to himself in his head. He really doesn't want to hear about Rin's first period. Slowly, he fills the kettle and puts it on the stove to warm up. As it does, he prepares three cups for tea and puts them on a tray. As he methodically does his work, he hears the two go to Minato and Kushina's room and come back again.

He begins listening again to the pair. There is silence. Feeling it's now safe to, Kakashi pours the hot water into the cups and takes the tray to the living room. Only Rin is in the room, sitting on the couch. Perhaps Kushina's still in the bedroom. He doesn't give it more thought in favor of putting the tray down and handing one of the cups to Rin.

“Here,” he says.

She smiles. “Thank you.”

Kakashi picks up one of the cups and sits down near her. They are quiet for a while, Rin blowing on her cup, Kakashi staring at his. He isn't sure how to start but knows he can't entirely ignore why Rin is here. “I, uh, I guess this is the first time this has happened?” he asks.

Her cheeks rosy slightly, but she answers, “Yes.”

“Kushina was able to help you?” he presses. He's sure she did because it's not in Kushina's nature to let someone struggle when she can help.

She nods. “Yeah, she gave a lot of good advice and showed me a thing or two.”

“Good," he replies. They lapse into silence for a minute, both drinking steadily from their cups of tea. When his is half-gone, he turns and looks at Rin. “I don’t suppose you’ll be training with us right away when Sensei gets back?”

“I’m not sure,” Rin admits. “I’ll see how I feel.” Kushina walks into the room and Rin downs the rest of her tea. Standing it up, she puts it down on the tray and says, “Thank you for the tea, ‘Kashi.” She then turns and bows to the woman standing in the doorway of the hall that leads to their bedrooms. “Kushina, thank you for your help.”

Kushina flaps a hand at the girl, deflecting her gratitude. “No problem!”

“You don’t have to leave right this minute,” breaks in Kakashi. He doesn't really want to go back to being all alone with Kushina. Not to mention it'd be better to get this awkwardness between him and Rin behind them in time for the next time they train together. “We could do something," he suggests, looking around the living room for something for them to do.

Kakashi and Minato have a lot of books and scrolls on the room's bookcase. Kushina has some too, but she also has a few bobbles she's decorated the room with and a little box with her nail polishes and makeup sitting on the sofa next to Rin. He's not sure reading is something you can really do with a friend. He's also not interested in painting his finger or toenails with her.

Doesn't Minato-Sensei have a couple of games somewhere?

“Do something?” replies Rin as he's still recalling where the games are.

He nods. “I think Sensei has a Shogi set,” he says. It comes to him then his teacher put them under the couch in a box. He bends down and pulls out the box. Propping up the lid, he peers inside. “Go too if you like that better.” 

Rin bites her lip. Kakashi is almost sure she will decline when Kushina speaks up.

“I have Hanafuda cards, you know.”

“I love Koi-Koi," offers Rin.

She nods and turns back toward the bedrooms. “All right, let me go find them for you two.” She pauses midstride and looks over her shoulder, a slightly impish smirk on her lips. Kakashi sits straight up and narrows his eyes at her. “Hey, did you want to stay for lunch, Rin?” she asks. “It’s Kakashi’s turn to cook.”

“Um," says Rin, looking between them.

“I’m better at cooking than Kushina,” assures Kakashi.

The smirk on Kushina's face vanishes. “For now!” she huffs.

“I can," agrees Rin. Then, to Kushina, says, "Thank you for inviting me."

She smiles and disappears to her bedroom.

While she's gone, Rin leans in close to Kakashi and whispers, “Hey, Kakashi?”

“Hm?” he hums as he puts back the box of Minato-Sensei's games.

“Why are you under house arrest?”

He pauses for all of a second. He supposes he can't blame her for being curious. However, he doesn't think there's a good way to explain why he's in trouble for getting caught eavesdropping on Orochimaru and Danzo when they were speaking to one another at the archives by Anko. Really, in the end, he's just lucky Kushina was there. It meant she was able to intercede and make up some story about how he's not going to learn allies' secrets to success by spying on them through scolding him publically.

He's even more fortunate Orochimaru and Danzo bought it. Sometimes, being known for your precociousness can be a benefit. Especially when you are a time-traveler.

As thankful as he is, Kakashi is still mad he's actually being punished for just using an opportunity to his advantage. Not to mention he was technically doing as Minato and Kushina asked. She _was_ there, even if she'd been unaware he'd taken it upon himself to do some reconnaissance. Hopefully, Minato-Sensei will be more reasonable when they all talk after he comes home.

“Mah, don’t worry,” he tells her. He rolls his eyes and flops back on the couch. “Kushina is just being dramatic.”

“Did you… Insult her?” she questions face scrunched and tone thoughtful.

He almost laughs. “She calls me more names than I do her,” he tells Rin, which makes the girl duck her head. He squirms closer to her and bumps her arm with his shoulder. “No, that’s not why," he answers. Then, trying to assure her once again, says, "Really, it’s no big deal. She just thought I was being needlessly reckless about something.”

“You were you little dummy,” Kushina cuts in from above, tapping the top of his head with what Kakashi assumes is her deck of cards. He looks up and glowers. She ignores it in favor of grinning. “Anyway, let’s not dwell on that!” she exclaims. Kushina then thrusts the cards at Rin. “Here you kids go.”

“Thanks, Kushina," replies the girl as she takes them.

The kunoichi nods and walks over to pick up her tea cup as Rin opens the cards and begins to shuffle them in preparation for their game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [LaughingWombat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaughingWombat) requested something with Rin. I know you were hoping for something fluffy. I think this turned out rather sweet overall!
> 
> Thank you for reading

**Author's Note:**

> I have also written [_Burst the Dams and Start Again ___](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24601531/chapters/59427631) _ _. The summary is:__  
> 
>
>> Obito doesn't die, instead, he and Kakashi survive their battle. For some reason, however, they both are a little altered.


End file.
